A summer full of drama

'Asmita theatre group' is celebrating its 25 glorious years in the world of art. To celebrate this special occasion 'Asmita' is organising a two-month long 'Summer Theatre Festival' which will enthral the audience from May 20 to July 28 at various eminent venues in the Capital. This "Summer Theatre Festival" shall begin with play 'Court Martial,' directed by Arvind Gaur and written by Swadesh Deepak with music composed by Dr Sangeeta Gaur at Sri Ram Centre, Mandi House.

In this festival, the group will showcase 17 plays, all of which are directed by Arvind Gaur and the music is composed by Dr Sangeeta Gaur.

'Ambedakar Aur Gandhi' and 'Hindu Code Bill' written by Rajesh Kumar; 'Operation Three Star' written by Dario Fo (adapted in Hindi by Amitabh Srivastava) and lyrics by Piyush Mishra; 'Unsuni' ; 'Moteram Ka Satyagrah'; 'Ek Mamooli Aadmi'; 'Log-Baag'; 'Final Solutions'; 'Ye Aadmi Ye Choohe'; 'Kharashein' and many other fabulous plays are going to be enacted at this festival.

Arvind Gaur, the leader of 'Asmita', is known for his work in socially and politically relevant theatre in India. Gaur's plays are contemporary and thought-provoking, connecting intimate personal spheres of existence to larger social political issues. His work deals with Internet censorship, communalism, caste issues, feudalism, domestic violence, crimes of state, politics of power, violence, injustice, social discrimination, marginalisation, and racism. The founder of the 'Asmita' theatre group believes that his work is not just sheer entertainment, but a medium to address concerns which are rooted in every individual's time and space.

"To me, theatre is a tool to sensitise people towards their own existence. I feel responsible for inciting the concerns of my audience, especially youth, towards the needs of our society.'' Gaur believes that stage training acts as a catalyst to create better human beings. "We must work on the most basic unit of society i.e. the individual, for developing sensibility on a broader scale."