Celebrating childhood

Good news for young theatre talents. The National School of Drama today announced the much-awaited international theatre festival for children, Jashnebachpan, kickstarting from November 17. The 14th edition of the vibrant theatre extravaganza under NSD's T.I.E Company will have the best of the performances from Switzerland, Sri Lanka and Indonesia along with their Indian counterparts at the Sammukh, Abhimanch, Abhikalp, and Little Theatre Group (LTG) auditorium.

'Jashnebachpan', a nine-day theatre experience for children, is a true example of unity and integrity as plays from various regions and languages are being performed here under the one roof. The festival features some of the most eminent as well as emerging theatre directors and established theatre groups working with and for the children.

This year 21 productions from India and three foreign groups including Sri Lanka (non-verbal), Switzerland (English) and Indonesia (Javanese) will showcase their talent. From India, a total of 24 groups have been selected out of 221 entries from various states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, and Tripura. The plays will be performed in vernacular languages like Bengali, Marathi, Assamese, and Malayalam besides non-verbal, English, Hindi and other foreign languages.

Much similar to the previous editions, the National School of Drama's campus will be converted into a veritable children mela as over 500 theatre aficionados are expected to be a part of the festival. The inaugural ceremony will be held on November 17th at the NSD campus at 5.30 in the evening followed by a music and dance performance', Udaan.

It will be comprised of four presentations by groups such as Thangata Pung Cholam (Manipur), Kalboliya (Rajasthan), Gotipua (Odisha) and Bhangra/folksong (Punjab). Even folk dances from Assam (Bihu), Sikkim (Lion Dance), Nagaland (Kabul Naga Dance) and Manipur (Stick Balance) will also be the main attractions of the grand event under the guidance of Dr Laique Hussain.

This time the plays have been divided into four distinct categories – performance by children, performance by children and adults, performance by adults for children and puppetry performance. Besides the regular plays, the students of NSD's Sunday club, a six-month crash course for the theatre enthusiasts, will perform every day in the afternoon at the lush green lawns of the campus.

As the festival celebrates childhood, even the underprivileged kids from various NGOs across Delhi and NCR have been invited to attend and enjoy the opening ceremony. To understand the importance of drama, the fest will conduct a two-day seminar 'Reflecting on theatre/drama for children' on November 23 and 24. The session will be addressed by some of the eminent theatre personalities. Every day there will be Directors meet, where three various groups from the previous day will interact and share their experience about their play with the audience and media.

Suresh Sharma, Director, National School of Drama, said, "The main aim of conducting Jashnebachpan is to bring theatre into prominence. It has lost its sheen in the modern era because of the digital medium. Children aren't aware of theatre these days as none of the schools has theatre as a subject. Like music and art, theatre should also be taught in schools as it not only one of the easiest ways to bring out one's emotions but also it enables us to develop our personality."

Abdul Latif Khatana, Chief, Theatre-in-Education, said, "Though Jashnebachpan is all about celebrating the childhood and innocence, it actually brings all the age group of the society under one roof. The festival integrates society. Even if we see the performances at Jashnebachpan, the plays are the result of the beautiful collaboration between adults and children."

Tickets for the plays will be available online on Bookmyshow.com as well as at the designated auditoriums/ counters of the productions at a very nominal rate of Rs 20/- for children and Rs 50/- for adults. Tickets will be available in two-time slots – 11 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm.