The largest theatre festival in Asia, 20th Bharat Rang Mahotsav organised by the National School of Drama, is all set to bring its bouquet of plays, interactive sessions, and other cultural events to cheer up the winter afternoons of theatre enthusiasts in New Delhi.
The international theatre festival will commence on February 1 and continue till February 21, bringing a diverse range of productions comprising 111 shows and allied events such as ‘Director’s Meet’, ‘Living Legend’, and ‘Master Class’.
The inaugural ceremony will be held at Kamani auditorium on February 1, followed by the performance of ‘Karanth ke Rang’, directed by Amod Bhatt. The 50-minute long performance is a medley of songs composed by late B.V. Karanth, a stalwart of Kannada and Hindi theatres.
Karanth was a prolific composer of songs and scripts for theatre and directed and acted in many productions.
The festival, which enters its 20th edition this year, is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi–four of the plays to be staged on the life, philosophy, and principles of the ‘Father of the Nation’.
The festival will host 69 Indian and 15 foreign plays across India, selected after screening. Additionally, nine folk productions, five plays by NSD diploma students, one production from the Sikkim center of NSD, three plays by the NSD Repertory as well as five invitee plays by eminent theatre practitioners will captivate the theatregoers across India.
The national capital will host 89 plays: 25 plays in Hindi, 16 in Bengali, five in Kannada, two in Marathi, two in Odia, two in Gujarati, two in Manipuri, three in English, two in Assamese, two in Malayalam and one each in Maithili, Telugu, Nepali, and Sanskrit, in addition to 15 foreign plays, the festival also brings 8 folk performances to theatre aficionados in the city.
The 21-day long festival this year will include plays in Hindi, English, and other regional languages.
International productions from countries such as Bangladesh, Poland, Russia, Sri Lanka, the Czech Republic, Italy, Nepal, Romania, and Singapore as well as non-verbal, folk, and multi-lingual performances will enthrall the audience during the theatrical spectacle.
Apart from the spellbinding performances and interaction with thespians and eminent personalities from the world of theatre, the festival in Delhi will also have two international and two national seminars on theatre.
The national seminars to be held in New Delhi will attend to the topic ‘Is Modern Theatre Inclusive?’ and will hold sessions dedicated to ‘Notion of State and Representation’, ‘Unrepresented Form’, and ‘Non-Governmental Curating and Funding Policy’.
Besides, the NSD campus will be abuzz with street plays, ambience shows, and ‘Theatre Bazar’, a motley of stalls offering a range of products and culinary delights.
The youth forum shows will comprise performances by dramatic societies of nearly 50 colleges in Delhi while ambience performances will bring folk dance and other traditional performing art forms.
In keeping with its concerted efforts to promote theatre among people and take select performances to other parts of the country, the NSD arranges parallel festivals in Dibrugarh (February 4th to10), Varanasi (February 7th to 13th), Ranchi (February, 9th to15th), Mysore (February 11th to 17th), and Rajkot (February 13th to 19th).
‘The art of theatre is the oldest and the strongest medium that conveys human emotions in a manner that defies temporal boundaries. We are delighted to usher in the Bharat Rang Mahotsav to its 20th year and have made all efforts to bring a selection of quality plays, choosing the best out of 960 submissions. There are 9 folk performances being presented in Delhi as well as invitee plays and productions in regional languages. We have tried to accommodate as many young theatre enthusiasts as we can, since the institution aim to foster the growth of young talents through the platform of BRM,’ says Suresh Sharma, Director In-charge, National School of Drama (NSD).
‘Theatre is a celebrated art form across the world and I am happy that this festival gives us a chance to witness many of the plays which have received critical acclaim globally. BRM aims at bringing together people and hence, we have spread the festival across the country so that theatre reaches more and more people. BRM has been a very successful festival attracting a lot of audience, including first-timers and we hope a similar run this year too,’ says Dr Arjun Deo Charan, Acting Chairman, NSD Society. (UNI)
