It is time to celebrate the warmth of life and human emotions as the city gears up to welcome Bharat Rang Mahotsav again. National School of Drama is ready with its annual drama extravaganza in the form of International Festival of Drama - the 16th Bharat Rang Mahotsav. The festival which will commence from 4 January will highlight various faces of Indian theatre and will bring to the capital 71 performances by renowned theater groups from different parts of India and the world on the same platform.
This year, theatre groups from 17 states, representing all the four regions of the nation – East, West, North South will stage their performances. Even countries like Sri Lanka, Japan, Israel, China, Poland and Germany will participate in the festival and will come up with seven performances. The festival will feature a complete kaleidoscope of various theatre styles starting from Classical, including Modern, Western and finishing in Folk Theatre and also highlight traditional folk theatre from about every part of the country bringing 11 performances from folk & traditional theatre.
Commenting on the festival NSD Director, Waman Kendre said, 'Bharat Rang Mahotsav is not only about urban theatre but it also focuses on the rural and traditional theatre. Hence, NSD is reaching out to every nook and corner of the country where drama and theatre exists and survives. With such exchange of knowledge and culture NSD aims to be the ultimate platform of theatre and cultural exchanges in theatre not only in India but with other countries as well.'
As a parallel festival, Bharat Rang Mahotsav is reaching out to the North East with six plays this year. NSD will go to Imphal and Guwahati with three international plays (from Israel, Japan and Sri Lanka) and three Indian plays which includes a Tamasha. This parallel festival will be on from 9 January, 2014 to 16 January.
Chairperson of National School Of Drama Society, Ratan Thiyum commenting on the parallel festival said, 'Integrating theatre from all parts of the nation and also taking it to varied audience has been an integral part of the vision of NSD for Bharat Rang Mahotsav.
North East has a culturally rich and potentially strong theatre movement. Missing Bharat Rang Mahotsav’s presence in the region will be a loss to the art and culture lovers of North East. Hence, the parallel festival is targeted in the North East this year.'
Apart from the theatre shows, the festival will also bring national theatre luminaries and their international counterparts together on one platform.
With this aim NSD has planned two seminars on topics like Global Exchanges, Local Encounters and on Use and Abuse of Tradition in Today’s Theatre.