Delhi to witness a gamut of theatre performances

Recognised as one of the oldest and most prestigious theatre festivals in Delhi, the 'Old World Theatre Festival' will bring a constellation of original scripts from August 16 -25, at the Habitat World, India Habitat Centre. In its 18th edition, the festival has invited a stunning array of productions that entertain, stimulate, provoke and educate in great measure.

Announcing the line up, Vidyun Singh, Director Programmes, Habitat World, India Habitat Centre, said "This year, we proudly bring a gamut of theatre performances, which engages with contemporary dilemmas and various issues concerning the country at large. The past few years have seen a steady and growing change in the Indian theatre milieu, as a new generation of theatre practitioners came into its own. They are brilliant, relentless and are undeterred by the practical concerns of revenue models, escalating costs of performance spaces and paucity of funds."

'1..2..tree', a puppet theatre production directed by award winning puppeteer Anurupa Roy, will open the festival on August 16, 7:00 pm at The Stein Auditorium. Another delightful act on the opening day is 'Unravel: An Improv Play About Mental Health' directed by Varoon Anand.

Other plays during the festival include Gurleen Judge's 'Hunger Artist' inspired by both Franz Kafka's chilling short story by the same name and Dhasal's masterpiece poem 'Bhook' (hunger), a moving portrayal of the agrarian crisis, and Tara Arts London will bring Black Theatre Broadcast of William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'. Supported by the British Council, the renowned director will also lead a master class on August 18 with designer Claudia Mayer exploring the choices possible in re-locating Shakespeare's text to another culture, and its consequences on approach to the text.

Veteran Director Neelam Man Singh's 'Gumm Hai'; 'Gudamba' written by screenwriter Javed Siddiqi and directed by Salim Arif, 'Every Brilliant Thing' directed by Quasar Thokore Padamsee; Directed by dancer Sanjukta Wagh, Bombay-based beej's 'Faqeer' 'Nimaana', a dance and music narrative based on Shah Hussain, a mystic weaver poet from 16th century Lahore; 'Those Left Behind Things' directed by Vikram Phukan Based on Annie Zaidi's acclaimed short story, 'Jam' directed by Bollywood actor Shivani Tanksale; 'Under Pressure' directed by Aruna Ganesh Ram are some other plays to be staged during the 10-day festival.

The festival will put its curtains down with Makrand Deshpande's 'Pitaji Please'.

The festival will also see workshops and master classes by visiting theatre practitioners, which includes workshops on Improvisation by Varoon Anand, Character Development by actor Aditya Garg and the Big Fat Company's one day workshop for physically big actors.