Play Time

The satellite towns are finally shaking the cobwebs of their deep slumber. Moving from political rallies and boring meets,Mohali’s gearing up for its first theatre festival. Yes,you heard it right. Starting May 29,the three-day fest will bring four fascinating plays by the Bhai Manna Singh Nat Ashram under the guidance of thespian Gursharan Singh at AIKSPS school,Phase 11,Mohali. “This is the first time that we are holding such a festival. Mohali doesn’t have many cultural activities to talk about,and most of the times,people have to depend on Chandigarh,especially for art an culture. With this,we want to lay the foundation of Mohali as a centre of cultural activities,” says Dr Sahib Singh,director of one of the plays of the fest adding how the plays have a central theme on creating social awareness. “Our motto is to create a society which has zero tolerance for injustice,terror and corruption,” adds Singh. Artistes from various parts of Punjab would be performing in this fest. As for the plays,‘Refund’ and ‘Sabasbagh’ will be staged on May 29,‘Kutti Vehra’ and ‘Paramvir Chakra’ on the 30th and 31st,respectively. While the play ‘Refund’ is a comment on the anomalies in the existing education system,Sabasbagh shows how wrong deeds can transform a man into an animal. Story of ‘Kutti Vehra’ deals with the conflict between the oppressed and the powerful whereas ‘Paramvir Chakra’ stages the trauma families of martyrs undergo. “All these plays are a slice of life and what happens in reality,” reflects theatre artist Harjit Singh. Adds another actor Siddhant Verma,“Theatre is a powerful medium to convey to the audience what we want to.” So be there at AKSIPS,May 29 to May 31,8pm.