City at Play

September is earmarked for the Chandigarh Theatre Festival and its cornucopia of critically acclaimed productions from across India.

September is earmarked for the Chandigarh Theatre Festival and its cornucopia of critically acclaimed productions from across India. The other months of the year are similarly reserved for touring theatre groups,stage festivals and solo shows. Over the past few years,Chandigarh has witnessed a surge in theatre activity,one thats not limited to local productions but involves the latest works of directors from various parts of the country.

The past months alone have seen special festivals by women directors such as Tripurari Sharma,Bharti Sharma and Maya Krishna Rao,as well as Natyanjali,a festival on Rabindranath Tagores works by directors such as Usha Ganguli and Rajashree Shirke. There have also been interactive productions by the NSD Repertory,a Dastangoi show by Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain,and a glimpse of Delhi-based National School of Dramas (NSD) Company Theatre by Ranjit Kapur. Each performance has been greeted by packed houses at Tagore Theatre.

Cultural akademies and theatre groups are putting their creative heads together to get professional theatre to the city and expose audiences to the best, says Kamal Tewari,Chairperson,Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi. He adds that getting regular,professional theatre to the city helps the art form to be recognised and appreciated by people. The leap from amateur theatre to national and international acts has been noticeable,with many city artistes also involved directly and indirectly with these festivals, says Tewari.

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This years Chandigarh Theatre Festival showcases plays that are distinct in style,theme,treatment and philosophy. The festival opens on September 21 with Jeebito o Mrito (Dead or Alive) by Anuradha Kapur,director,of NSD. The play features actor and theatre person Seema Biswas. Adapted from Tagores short story Jeebito o Mrito and written by Geetanjali Shree,the plays central character,Kadambari,is a widow who is believed to be dead. After waking up in a cremation ground,she faces the challenge of having to prove shes alive.

The other plays of the festival includes Mumbai-based The Company Theatres Hindi version of Twelfth Night called Piya Behroopiya. The play,directed by Atul Kumar,premiered at the Globe Theatre during the World Shakespeare Festival held in London,earlier this year. Our play is a translation and not an adaptation, says Kumar,adding that the tough part was to keep the soul and humour of Twelfth Night intact while scaling down the duration of the production. Dadi Pudumjees Kalpataru-The Giving Tree,a puppet show,promises to be a brand-new experience for the audiences. The fourth play of the festival is Girish Karnads Bikhre Bimb (Broken Images). Directed by Karnad and KM Chaitanya and starring Arundhati Nag,the play explores the dilemma of Indian writers who choose to write in English. Veteran actor-director Nadira Zaheer Babbars theatre company Ekjute presents the last play of the festival,Yaar Banaa Buddy. Its a story of three childhood friends whose relationship changes with time. When one out of the three men distances himself,the other two swear to change his heart and revive their friendship.

The festival is on at Tagore Theatre,from September 21 to 25 at 7 pm

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