KOLKATA: Art knows no boundaries and the 7th National Theatre Festival is ready to prove just that. To ensure theatre lovers in Bengal can enjoy a variety of plays, subtitles will be provided for performances in Marathi, Assamese, Kannada and other languages, said state Education minister and acclaimed theatre personality Bratya Basu on Wednesday at a Press conference. He was joined by eminent playwright Hara Bhattacharya, theatre personalities Arpita Ghosh and Bijoy Mukhopadhyay.
The festival, being organised by state theatre repertory Minerva Natya Sanskriti Charcha Kendra and West Bengal Information and Cultural Affairs department, will be held across two venues namely Madhusudan Mancha and Girish Mancha. The festival will showcase 17 diverse productions from across the country from January 18 to January 26. The inauguration on January 18 at 4.30 pm at Madhusudan Mancha will feature Basu, Ghosh, state tourism minister Indranil Sen and state Agriculture minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay. The week-long festival will present plays in Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Marathi and Kannada. The opening day will feature Bihar’s Raaga Repertory performing ‘Small Town Zindagi’.
“We received 112 applications and selected 17 plays, with seven from Bengal. Theatre groups from Assam, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Bihar will also participate,” said Basu. A jury panel selected the plays.
Minerva Natya Sanskriti Charcha, known for iconic productions like ‘Raja Lear’, ‘Chandragupta’ and ‘Debi Sarpomasta, has grown since 2011 to include workshops, discussions and festivals.