Festival to serve all genres on one platter

From struggling story of a common man to the painful saga of a widow, to a biography of a legendary poet, the Modern Theatre Festival will bring a variety of plays of different genres in one platter. Organised by the department of art, culture and languages of the government of Delhi and the Sahitya Kala Parishad, the festival is a unique initiative by the Delhi government to promote theatre in the capital. The five-day event slated to begin on December 10 will have five directors from across the country, which includes plays like Rangbhoomi, directed by Surendra Sharma; Jeevito Mrito, directed by Anuradha Kapur; Bol Ke Lab Azad Hain Tere, directed by Lokendra Trivedi. Commenting on the theatrical extravaganza, J.P. Singh, assistance secretary, Sahitya Kala Parishad, said, “The Modern Theatre Festival is an initiative to showcase and promote Indian theatre. There are famous and distinguished directors who will showcase their talent in the upcoming festival and will present stage shows of different diversities in a compact, seamless format that will appeal to contemporary audiences, while maintaining the essence of the ancient tradition.” Mr Singh feels that although the rise of cinema and television serials has affected the appeal theatre had in the 60s and 70s, there are still some people who love this format of entertainment. “Today people have become choosy. However, if one can rope in senior directors and organise good plays, people will definitely come and watch,” he adds. The first day of the festival will witness Rangbhoomi. Directed by Surendra Sharma, the play is based on a novel written by Premchand. Set in the pre-Independence India, this play showcases tricky ground of tensions between the rulers and the ruled. The play revolves around blind Surdas, who begs for a living but is the owner of a much-coveted piece of land — being used by the villagers of Panderpur for daily activities like grazing cattle etc. When a local industrialist, Sevak, asks Surdas to sell this piece of land so that he can set up a cigarette factory, Surdas refuses to sell the piece of land. “Rangbhoomi deals with human psychology and what is even happening in the present-day India,” says Sharma. He feels that theatre is a big medium to experience real things happening live in front of us. “Unlike films, where everything is happening behind a screen, theatre gives people live experience. They can relate instantly to the event.” The second day of the festival will show Math Ke Raaste Mein Ek Din, the play which has been adapted by a story written by Satish Aalekar and has been translated by Seema Mittal. The stage show will be directed by Suresh Bharadwaj and will be presented by Aakar Kala Sangam. The play is about the relationship between man and woman, depicting three generations — grandfather-grandmother, father-mother and a recently married husband and wife. About 15 people will take part in this act, which includes the multimedia unit and the photographers. “The play is a sort of hallucination of the past. It will depict different phase of life in a relationship and how people relate to their past in every phase of their life,” says Mr Bharadwaj. He feels that although the subject is of immense interest, only theatre-loving people will be interested to go for this play as it is a serious depiction of life. The third day of the juncture will exhibit the play Jeevito Mrito. Adapted from a story of Rabindranath Tagore and directed by Anuradha Kapur, Jeevito Mrito is the story of a widow, Kadambari, who finds herself on a cremation ground and believes that she is dead. All through her life, she’s not been allowed to be part of society’s rituals and festivals because she is a widow. Now, with the belief that she is dead, she sets out to fulfil her dreams to relive her childhood and meet friends she knew as a girl. Bollywood actor Seema Biswas, the versatile actor who masterfully etched the banditry and travails of Phoolan Devi in her debut, will act in this play. The fourth day of the festival will see Bol Ke Lab Azad Hain Tere, written by Parvez Ahmad and directed by Lokendra Trivedi. The play is about the life of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and how he has struggled throughout his life. “The play is based on Faiz and the way he narrated the real-life incidents through his poetries,” said play’s director Lokendra Trivedi. The musical act, presented by students of Abhigyan Natya Associa-tion, will have about 30 participants in a 90-minute feature showcasing the diverse range of thoughts emanating from Faiz. The fifth and the final day of the festival will showcase Shayar Shutter Down, written and directed by Tripuarari Sharma. It is a story of a protagonist, who is not in sync with the world and is fighting loneliness.