To honour and felicitate the best of theatre, the 11th Edition of ‘Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards’ (META), India’s only national awards dedicated solely to theatre, will bring the best productions from across the country in a festival that highlights the intrinsic diversity and rich cultural traditions of India.
The red carpet META 2016 Awards Night will be held on March 11 in the national Capital. The nominated productions across eight languages will be staged at FICCI and LTG auditoriums from March 5 till March 10.
The nominated plays will be judged across 13 categories, making META the most comprehensive awards recognising Indian theatre. Awards will be given for Best Play, Best Director, Best Stage Design, Best Light Design, Best Innovative Sound Design, Best Costume Design, Best Actor in a Lead Role (Male), Best Actor in a Lead Role (Female), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female), Best Original Script, Best Ensemble, and Best Choreographer.
Over 300 entries were viewed by a selection committee, comprising theatre stalwarts Vinod Nagpal, a renowned Indian film and television actor; Prof. Chandradasan, Founder and Artistic Director of Lokadharmi Centre for Theatre; Baharul Islam, noted Assamese Director-Actor and Artistic Director at Seagull Theatre; Surendranath Suri, Director at Rangashakra Bangalore and Diwan Singh Bajeli, eminent theatre critic.
The 10 plays nominated for META 2016 are- After Death - A spiritual journey by Vikram Mohan, Balcony by Sasidharan Naduvil, A Friend’s story by Akash Khurana, Haoai (The Eleventh Planet) by Gautam Halder, Kuhaimaravasigal (Cave Tree Dwellers) by Dr S. Murugabhoopathy, 07/07/07 by Faezeh Jalali, Akshayambara by Sharanya Ramprakash, Mein hun Yusuf aur yeh hai mera bhai by Mohit Takalkar, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari by Deepan Sivaraman and Agnes Of God by Kaizaad Kotwal.
Commenting on the increasing popularity of the annual event, Jay Shah, Head, Cultural Outreach, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said: “The Mahindra Group is proud to present the 11th season of META.
“This year’s selection of plays from various parts of our nation strengthens our belief that ‘Make in India’ is true and alive in the Arts as well. A plethora of languages, ideas and cultures will be on display this March and we urge the audiences to come and partake in this wonderful festival and to especially show their support for regional theatre.”