Playwright: Ajay Shukla
Direction: Chittaranjan Tripathy
Group: NSD Repertory Company, Delhi
Language: Hindi
Duration: 2 hrs 20 mins

The Play
Emperor Shah Jahan invites the chief engineer of CPWD, Guptaji and shares his dream of building a monument in the memory of his late, wife, Mumtaz. After much deliberation he comes to the conclusion that a mausoleum be built in her memory and he wants it to be named Taj Mahal.
Guptaji, a shrewd, corrupt, official, entraps the Emperor in the snares of bureaucracy and red- tapism leading to many hilarious situations. The ridiculous bureaucratic procedure takes 25 years only to float the tender notice of Taj Mahal.
TajMahal Ka Tender is one of the successful satires of contemporary times.

Director’s note
The state is the best creation of man as it is not an imitation of anything that existed before. With the emergence of the State, a primitive society is transformed into a civil society, leading to the germination of division of labour, division of time, rank, file, red-tape etc., thereby giving birth to official dom. TajMahal ka Tender is a satire on rank –file, red tapism and the sad state of officialdom. It focuses on the organizational diseases that India is suffering due to – corruption, idleness, favoritism, arrogance and insensitivity to public needs.

The Director
Chittaranjan Tripathy graduated from National School of Drama in 1996 with specialization in acting. He was also enrolled in the musical theatre department in the Guildford School of Acting (GSA), Guilkdford, UK, under the Charles Wallace fellowship.
Shri Tripathy has directed plays for many leading theatre groups and repertory companies including the National School of Drama Repertory Company, the Shri Ram Centre Repertory and the Sahitya Kala Parishad Rang Mandal. Some of his most popular plays include TajMahal Ka Tender with NSD Repertory Company, Capitol Express, Arre Mayavi Sarovar with SRC Repertory; Ladi Nazaria and Humare Sheher Ke Romeo Juliet with Sahitya Kala Parishad Rang Mandal.

The Playwright
Born in 1955, at Agra Ajay Shukla is a post–graduate in history from Lucknow University and then joined Indian Railway Traffic Service. His play, Doosra Adhyaay was directed by Ram Gopal Bajaj in 1998, and was broadcast from All India Radio later the same year. In 1993 he received the Delhi Sahitya Kala Parishad’s Playwright – Award for Doosra Adhyaya and Mohan Rakesh Samman for his play Tajmahal Ka Tender. In 2000 he received the National Award by All India Radio (Akashvani) for his play Hum Honge Kaamyab.

The Group
Established in 1964 with a membership of only four persons, the Repertory Company is the regular performing wing of the School. It was set up with the dual purposes of establishing professional theatre on one hand and continuing with regular experimental work on the other. Over the years it has produced a variety of plays ranging from stylized musicals to realistic contemporary Indian drama to translations and adaptations of foreign plays. In addition, several eminent persons of national and international repute have worked with the Company, and it has performed over one hundred and eighty one plays by ninety-eight playwrights and has worked with ninety directors. Quite a few of its actors have emerged as celebrities in theatre, cinema and television. The Company has toured extensively in India and abroad. It is celebrating fifty years of its existence this year.

Cast & Credit
Shahajahan                                            Shahnawaz Khan
Gupta                                                     Suresh Sharma
Sudhir                                                     Ashutosh Banerjee/ Virendra Singh
Bhaiyaji                                                   Deep Kumar
Mahila Neta                                            Sampa Mandal/ Shruti Mishra
Kanhaiyalal                                             Sikandra Kumar
Murarilal Sharma                                    Naveen Singh Thakur
Shethi                                                     Shubham Pareek
Ladka                                                     Rahul kumar
Ladki                                                      Sakshi Sharma
Aurangzeb                                             Parag Baruah
Mummo/ Mumtaz                                   Snehalata S. Tagde
Darbari                                                   Shubham Pareek, Vishveshvar M. Gondhali, Manish Dubey,                                                                       Virendra Singh, Naresh Kumar
Jahanara                                                Anamika Sagar
Shaktiman                                              Jitu Rabha
Four Friends                                           Virendra Singh , Manish Dubey, Vishveshvar M. Gondhali,
Naresh Kumar
Dancer                                                    Aparna Menon
News Paper Hawker                               Shruti, Sampa, Aparna Menon, Snehalata S. Tagde
Other                                                      Palak Jasrotia

Production Co-ordinator                         Sukumar Tudu
Set Designer                                          Pankaj Jha
Set Execution                                         Ram Pratap, Manoj Kumar, Brijesh Sharma
Light Design                                           Govind Singh Yadav
Light Execution                                      Md. Suleman, Pradeep Aggarwal
Costume Design                                    Sunita
Costume Helping                                   Shruti Mishra
Chief Costume Co-ordinator                  C.S. Bhatia
Dance Choreography                             Meghana Malik
Singers                                                   All Repertory Artistes
Music Rearrangement                           Santosh Kumar (Sandy)
Property In-charge                                 Moti Lal Khare
Sound Operation                                   Mukesh Kumar
Make Up In-charge                                Sikandra Kumar, Shruti Mishra
Stage Manager                                      Govind Singh Yadav
Assistant Director                                  Md. Abdul Kadir Shah

Playwright                                              Ajay Shukla
Lyrics, Music, Design & Direction          Chittaranjan Tripathy

Contacts
NSD Repertory Company
Bahawalpur House
Bhagwandas Road
New Delhi – 110 001
Ph: 011 23383420
W: www.nsd.gov.in

Playwright: Arijit Biswas & Prithunandan Ghose
Director: Prithunandan Ghose
Group: Bachhor Koori Porey, Kolkata
Language: Bengali
Duration: 2 hrs 15 mins

The Play
Priyotamasu is a chronicle of ten turbulent months in 1942. Set in a small mofussil town of Central India, the story is woven around a family of affluent Bengali settlers and a group of old or invalidated British officers, who are posted in that town. Away from the swirling passions of time, the two groups closely interact with each other till time overtakes them and the symbiosis is broken.

Director’s Note
Inspired from a short story by Somerset Maugham, which I read in late eighties, I couldn’t stop myself exploring how the drama in it could be brought on stage? I shared it with my childhood friend Arijit Biswas, co-playwright in this case, and asked him to read it as well. We had a series of debates on the context, the perspective and its acceptability by our viewers etc., which used to end up in tussles.

Finally, we had to change the whole of it completely, keeping only the essence of the outcome intact, and as such it took the shape of an original creation. We named it, Priyotamasu, the beloved.

A reading session was arranged for our acting and technical team who were awestruck listening to it and enjoyed all the rehearsals till it was launched on the evening of 1st June, 2019 at Gyan Manch, Kolkata.

As a Director of the play, I would not like to add any attribute, whatsoever, in favour of the play. Let the play be staged, it would be capable enough to substantiate its merit through its presentation.

The Director & Co-Playwright
Prithunandan Ghose’s approach to theatre is an amalgam of science and art. His presentations are uncanny and aesthetic owing to a background of engineering and the passion for theatre. His first group, Kathik, performed till 1977. When the group dissolved due to other professional callings for a living, he could not reconcile with his staying away from theatre. He formed Bachhor Koori Porey, which means ‘after 20 years.’ In 2015 the same compatriots, re-grouped for a sensational production, Ebong Andhokar, and in the following year for Adhora, a play scripted from a novel of Neelohit. In 2019 the group produced Priyotamasu that has been highly acclaimed. In all these plays Prithunandan has proven himself as a script-writer, lyricist, director and designer.

The Co-Playwright
Arijit Biswas, a writer of repute, is a graduate in engineering from Jadhavpur, and a post graduate in management from XLRI, Jamshedpur. Despite his professional demands he found time to write plays. He has co-written two Bengali plays viz. Priyotamasu and Ebong Andhokar that have been appreciated in and around Kolkata. Another play, Uttordroho, written by him was published in 1996 issue of theatre journal, Gandharba. He has written scripts and serials in Hindi for Zee TV, and for telefilms in Bengali. He is also the script-writer for Bollywood films Agent Vinod, Badlapur and Andhadhun. Under the section of Indian Feature Films category at KIFF, 2018, he won the best director award for the Bengali film Surjo Prithibir Chardike Ghore.

The Group
After a long break the group Kathik reassembled as Bachhor Koori Porey to perform Ebong Andhokar in 2015. The play was presented at important theatre congregations, mesmerizing the audiences and critics alike. Then followed Adhora, in 2016, and after three years, in June 2019, Priyotamasu. The latter has been a much awaited and promising piece that instantly caught the discerning attention of viewers and has now been invited to perform at NSD.

Cast & Credits
Sumi                                                       Aishani De
Aloka                                                      Amrita Mukhopadhyay
Surya                                                      Dipyaman Chatterjee
Doglus                                                    Sudip Mukherjee
Parsu                                                      Kunal Sen
Mr. Mahendra Banerjee                          Biswarup Das Purakayastha
Mrs. Sarbani Banerjee                            Enakshi Sen
Nikhil                                                       Arghya Basu Roy
Bannu                                                     Navoneel Sarkar
Jayaram                                                  Rittwik Roy
Alexis                                                      Avik Das
Monroe                                                   Arijit Chakraborty
Bharat                                                     Prabir Dutta
Bearer                                                     Abhishek Ghosh Roy

Light Design                                           Badal Das
Technical Assistants                               Ranjit Das & Surajit Mandal
Keyboard                                                Krishnendu Chatterjee
Sound Projection                                    Kaushik Sajjan
Make-up Artist                                        M. M. Rahman (Md. Babu)
Costume in-charge                                 Rupa Ghose
Property in-charge                                  Sima Ghose
Accessories in-charge                            Maloy Kanti Ghose
Set in-charge                                          Avirup Maity
Shifting in-charge                                   Sthitadhi Roy
Shifter                                                     Kakoli Chakraborty
Costume Design &Stagecraft Design     Prithunandan Ghose

Playwright Arijit Biswas & Prithunandan Ghose
Co-Playwright & Director Prithunandan Ghose

Contacts
Director
Bachhor Koori Porey,
W2A(R) 12/5, Phase IV B, Golf Green,
Kolkata-700095, West Bengal
M: +91 9830390690, 9830278466
E: bkporey@gmail.com

Playwright: Daniil Kharms
Director: Rajiv Krishnan
Group: Perch, Chennai
Language: English
Duration: 1 hr 30 mins

The Play
A girl finds a job as a cashier in your store, turns the handle on the cash-till and dies. What do you do? Stick a mushroom in her hand and pretend she’s alive. People throw themselves off windows, they leap out of cupboards, they spend maddeningly long hours in queues, they attack each other with snot and cucumbers, they fall, they sleep, they fight, they die. This is the world of Daniil Kharms. Chaotic, absurd, sometimes frightening, often incomplete. And you find that the only rational response is to laugh. The worse it gets, the more you laugh. Kharms is the master of dark laughter. It’s so ridiculous, so absurd, it can’t be true, right? Right?

Director’s Note
Our approach to Kharms was from a state of complete unknowing. A piece of text, a thought, an idea or an image triggered off our explorations. The entire process was a challenging one to say the least. This play represents our individual and collective response to Kharms, conceived in a true spirit of collaboration.
Puppets play an important role in this piece. The choice of working with puppets was a chance occurrence. Not being trained puppeteers we started from scratch, using storytelling as a guide. Like every piece of ours, we see this work too as a work in progress, evolving as we present it to audiences. And as much as we want to engage and provoke you, the audience, we hope that you will engage with the piece and provoke us in turn. In true Kharmsian spirit, we invert the typical theatre greeting and direct it to the audience – Break a leg!

The Director
Rajiv Krishnan is a theatre director and actor based in Chennai. His first play as a director was an adaptation of the comic satire Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Dario Fo) in 2000. In 2004, he organized a fortnight long festival called ‘Angloscapes’ focused on the Anglo-Indian community for which he co-adapted and directed a play inspired by Tennessee Williams Glass Menagerie in English. It was with this festival that the theatre collective Perch informally came into being.

The Playwright
Daniil Kharms (1905-1942), was an early Soviet era absurdist poet, writer and dramatist. He was often incarcerated by the Stalinist regime of his time for his unconventional and rebellious ways. His adult literature was not published during his lifetime and he was confined to writing for children. He is said to have starved to an anonymous death in the psychiatric ward of a Soviet hospital after being arrested during the siege of Leningrad in 1942. His stories defy easy characterization – they may start humorously but quickly turn dark, many featuring random acts of violence.

The Group
Perch is a theatre collective based in Chennai. It was formed by a motley bunch of actors, designers, filmmakers, journalists and others in 2008. Perch has been constantly exploring new ways of storytelling on a variety of themes from pure fantasy to contemporary Indian reality, from humour to political satire. Starting with adaptations of well- known plays and short stories, they have also explored devised work which is multilingual, collaborative and ensemble driven with a strong focus on visual design and music.

Cast & Credits
Created & Performed  by Iswar Lalitha, Rency Philip, Sachin Gurjale, Vijay Ravikumar, Vinod Ravindran

Music                                                   Abhaydev Praful
Photography                                        Richa Bhavanam
Costumes                                            Kaveri Lalchand
Puppets and Prop making                   Iswar Lalitha, Rency Philip, Sachin Gurjale, Vijay Ravikumar, Vinod Ravindran
Set and Light Design                            Kalpana Balaji, John V. Mathew
Production Management                      Anushka Meenakshi, Bharavi

Commissioned by The Serendipity Arts Festival

Playwright                                          Daniil Kharms
Director                                              Rajiv Krishnan

Contacts
Director, Perch
7, Bazullah Road, T Nagar
Chennai, Tamil Nadu- 600017
M: +91 9840700567
E: anushka.meenakshi@gmail.com

Playwright: Sattar Baig & Lakshman Deshmukh
Director: Poonam Tiwari
Group: Rang Chhattisa, Chhattisgarh
Language: Chhattisgarhi
Duration: 1 hr 30 mins

The Form
Nacha is a traditional folk-theatre and a legacy of Chhattisgarh. According to some scholars the basis of this theatrical form is Gammat Nacha, which is mainly a singing form. Gammat Bhajans include expressions of emotions, humour, longing etc. The performance is conducted throughout the night and the audience enjoys it wholeheartedly. It includes singing of bhajans of Tulidas, Surdas, Kabirdas, Meera, followed by filmy Ghazals, Qawwalis and folk songs like Karma, Dadriya, Yuvapanthi, Holi etc. The performance includes all colours ranging from humour, compassion, love, anger etc.

The Play & Director’s Note
This play is to encourage the audience to help in getting rid of the increasing dilemmas in the society, and build a clean and beautiful nation. It also urges those who are in the grip of an addiction, to give up the bad habit/s so that one’s health, family future generation, and the society does not have to pay for one’s folly. The addiction to liquor is driving the society astray. Through this play we wish to convey that alcohol, known as ‘Mahua ke Pani’ (Water of Mahua) in our region, is destroying our world. Families are suffering due to this evil habit. I, Poonam Tiwari, and my team are honoured to present this play at NSD, Delhi.

The Director
Born on 13th November 1963 in Chhattisgarh, Poonam Tiwari attended school till class four. At the age of nine she started participating in the productions of Nacha parties like Dau Mandaraji Nacha Party, Jaalbandha Nacha party, Pateva Nacha party and Nishad Nacha party. While working for Champa Barsan Nacha party of Durg, she came in contact with the great thespian Habib Tanvir and from 1984 to 2005 worked under him as an actor in Charandas Chor, Mitti Ki Gadi, Mor Nau Damad Gaon Ke Nau Sasural and many other productions. She has been awarded with Dauji Mandara Samman 2005, Sharad Vairahagkar Samman 2015 by IPTA, and Dau Ramchandra Deshmukh Bahuman Samman 2020.

The Playwrights
Lakshman Deshmukh was born in a farmer’s family in Village Dugatola, 10 kms from the forest of Ambagarh. He has written many songs and plays on social issues like de-addiction, dowry system, oppression of women etc. He along with Sattar Baig has adapted this play to bring awareness about the evil and ill effects of alcohol that are spreading in the society. The play focuses on the addiction of liquor, made from the fruits of Mahua tree, in tribal villages. The play has been written in Chhattisgarhi Nacha style.

The Group
Rang Chhattisa based in district Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh), is a folk and cultural theatre group which has been presenting plays mainly based on the folk-art form Nacha. The group prioritises social issues over commercial ventures. It has performed numerous plays including Lottery, Rajim Bhaktin, Pathshala, Mahua Ke Pani and many more, in cities like Jaipur, Wardha, Bilaspur, Raigarh, Ajmer, Delhi, Indore, Patna, Ranchi, Guwahati etc.

Cast & Credits
Guru’s Wife                                  Poonam Tiwari
Guruji                                           Sattar Baig
Sahinav                                        Mitr Shailender Rajak
Sahinav’s Wife                             Kumari Kaushik
Baba/Dada                                   Chhannu Sahu
Guruji’s Daughter                         Lakshmi Yadav
Friends                                         Divya Tiwari, Annu
Liquor Seller                                 Tejram Devangan
Bania                                            Rajkumar Chauhan
Bania’s Assistant                          Murad Khan
Policeman                                     Deva
Pallbearer (Arthi Uthane Wala)     Mahesh Sahu
Saheli                                            Pramila Yadav
Student                                         Chhotu Meshram, Mahesh Sahu

Harmonium                                   Limesh Shukla
Bansuri                                         Hemraj Sinha
Tabla                                             Monu Pandiya
Banjo                                            Chetan
Dance Director                              Varsha
Dance                                           Jeetu Yadav
Singer (female)                             Anita Jhanghel
Singer (male)                                Narottam Das
Guidance                                      Deepak Virat

Playwright                                    Sattar Baig & Lakshman Deshmukh
Director                                        Poonam Tiwari

Contacts
Rangchhatisa
Mamta Nagar, Ward No.-19
Rajnandgaon, Chhatisgarh
M: +91 9009008070
E: limesh1988@gmail.com

Director: Tushar Sonu Naik
Group: Naik Mochemadkar Paramparik Dashavtari Loknatya Mandal, Maharashtra
Language: Marathi
Duration: 1 hr 40 mins

The Form
Dashavtar is a popular form of folk-art characterizing rural theatre of South Konkan region, the coastal Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. Dashavtar is generally the presentation of different incarnations of Lord Vishnu, with ‘akhyanas’ (stories) from great epics Mahabharata and Ramayana, though these days more secular themes are also presented.
Dashavtar is an all-male performance. It has music, mime, colourful costumes, extempore dialogues, dance steps, and battle scenes. Dashavtar regales, instructs, and edifies the rural masses through the themes it presents. The music has harmonium, tabla or pakhawaj, and cymbals as accompanying musical instruments, and is based on the Hindustani style.

The Performance
Babruvahana, the king of Manipur, takes in his custody the horse of the Pandavas which they had sent as symbol of their supremacy over all the kings. Meghavarna, son of Ghatotkacha, and Rushiketa, son of Karna go in search of the horse but fail to find it and return. Chitrangi, mother of Babruvahana, reveals to him that he is the son of the great warrior Arjuna. Babruvahana goes to meet Arjuna, but Arjuna gets angry and insults him. This makes Babruvahana furious. He challenges Arjuna for a fight. In the battlefield Arjuna gets defeated and Babruvahana decides to behead him. Chitrangi and Ulupi, Babruvahana’s stepmother order him get the divyamani, a precious stone, from the head of Shesh Nagraj, to save Arjuna and other martyrs in the battlefield.
Babruvahana goes to Shesh Nagraj, who is also his grandfather, and succeeds in getting the divya Nagamani. Meanwhile Bheema, the elder brother of Arjuna, arrives on the scene and on seeing Arjuna beheaded, fights with Babruvahana. Chitrangi and Ulupi stop them and tell him what actually happened.
All of them pray to Shree Krishna who appears and brings life to Arjuna and the others by touching the Nagamani on their heads. Babruvahana and his father Arjuna embrace each other.

Director’s Note
While directing this play, I have selected the artists who are able to portray the character assigned to them. I have worked on the dialogues, costumes, make-up, and hairstyles, especially of males who perform the role of females. I thank the music director of this play for his single-handed contribution in this production.

The Director
Tushar Sonu Naik is a Matriculate. Though he is young, he has directed many plays, such as Veer Babruvahana, which is most popular among all. Most of the plays directed by him are in the traditional folk form of Maharshtra – Dashavtar.

The Group
The troupe known as Naik Mochemadkar Parmparik Dashavtari Loknatya Mandal is headed by Sonu alias Babal Shripad Naik, and managed by his son Tushar Sonu Naik, who is also a musician.
The family resides on the picturesque sea-shore in a small village called Mochemad, in Maharashtra. Dashavtar, a traditional folk art of this area, has been practiced by the family for more than six generations. The performers and musicians of the troupe come from different villages of Sindhudurg district and a few also from the nearby state of Goa. They all are from poor, rustic, rural areas, mainly farmers, agriculturists or artists dedicated to this folk art with devotion and love. Naik Mochemadkars are frequently invited to perform their plays in annual festivals, rural fairs in the courtyards of temples, and these days even in urban areas. More than 240 performances are staged by this group every year.

Cast & credit

Ganesh                        Gajanan Vengurlekar
Riddhi                           Akshay Naik
Siddhi                           Dipak Mayekar
Babruvahana                Nitin Asayekar
Hansadhvaja                Sudhakar Parab
Arjuna                           Narayan Asayekar
Meghvarna                   Nilesh Naik
Rushiket                       Sagar Gaonkar
Ulupi                             Ratnakar Manjarekar
Chitrangi                       Mahesh Dhuri
Bheema                        Krishana Naik
Shesh Nagraj                Guru Varadkar
Shrikrishana                  Aatmaram Sawant

Harmonium                    Rajan Gawade
Mrudang or Pakhvaj       Piyush Khandare
Cymbals                         Snatosh Gudulekar
Singer                             Mahadev Dalvi
Backstage Artists            Sitaram Gawade, Pravin Tandel,
Raman Parab, Harishchandra Manjarekar
Music Director                Jayram Shripad Naik
Head of the Troupe         Sonu Shripad Naik

Research                         Vijaykumar Phatarpekar
Director & Manager          Tushar Sonu Naik

Contacts
Naik Mochemadkar Paramprik Dashavtari Loknatya Mandal
Mochemad – Vengurla
H.No 134, Bhandarwadi-Mochemad
P.O. – Tank, Taluka – Vengurla
Distt. – Sindhudurga State – Maharashtra
Pin 416518
Ph. +919405070799, 9764504137
E: tnaik82@gmail.com

Playwright: Snehasish Bhattacharyay
Director: Sima Mukhopadhyay
Group: Samstab, Kolkata
Language: Bengali
Duration: 2 hrs 20 mins

The Play
Nirupam Goswami, an ex-army man, who has now become an entrepreneur, is living a contented life with his wife Sujata Goswami and son Debopam Goswami, when one afternoonall of a sudden, there appears a stranger,and intruding into their house claims to be the real Nirupam Goswami, who had fought as a Major in the Dras Sector, 237 battalion, during the Kargil War. He claims that Sujata is his wife, and says that this Nirupam Goswami is actually Mainak Ghosh, who had fought under his domination in the Kargil War. Surprised and astonished by the attitude of the ‘uninvited guest’, Nirupam and Sujata struggle to fight against all odds. The case is then taken to the police, who is also taken aback, when the stranger presents proof after proof. Lawyers from both the sides look into the matter, and finally, the case reaches the court.

Director’s Note
I feel every director wants to work on a play that goes beyond its words and delves into a deeper philosophy of life. Anahuta (The Uninvited) compelled me to look within me while presenting it on the stage. The known tactics of executing plays went topsy-turvy while working on Anahuta. The more I faced these challenges the more I felt zealous about it. Not only was it me but the actors too went through all these challenges while playing their parts. In fact, the different selves that inhabit our being remain, for the most part of our lives, unknown, unrecognized and uninvited to the fore. When these selves come to the fore and confront us, the familiarity with life vanishes instantly. Everything legal and illegal, true and false, the victorious and the defeated, stand on an unstable ground.Here, in this play, we too have faced something unknown and been on a journey with it. That the journey of life is the only truth is what our team has tried to present through this play on stage.

The Director
Sima Mukhopadhyay (born 5 December 1959) is a director, playwright and actor from Kolkata. She made her stage debut as a child artiste with M.G. Enterprise, a professional theatre ensemble. She received Master’s Degree in Drama (Acting) from Rabindra Bharati University in 1985. At present she heads Rangroop. As an actress Sima has acted in productions directed by eminent directors, beside her own. She has written twelve full-length plays, and six short-length plays for children. Besides the ones written by her,Sima has directed works of Rabindranath Tagore, Oscar Wilde, TriptiMitra, Arthur Arbuzov, and many other world renowned writers. She is a recipient of Senior Fellowship from HRD Ministry for the year 2002, Ritwik Ghatak Smriti Puraskar, Paschim Banga Natya Akademi award, Dishari Puraskar, Kalakar Award, Bengal Shrachi Award, and Anukul Samman.

The Playwright
Dr.Snehasis Bhattacharyya, started his journey as a playwright with Swapnoparosh which was staged by Natyaranga theatre group in 2011. After that, he was selected in the International Playwrights’ Workshop held the same year with the playwrights of West Bengal and Bangladesh, andthe Cultural Ministry of India. He is also an actor and has performed many plays for Bangla theatre.

The Group
Samstab was formed in 1982 under guidance of Guru Sri Dwijen Bandyopadhyay. Its first production was Abhimukh, a poetic play written by Shri Navendu Sen and staged in 1983. The group has tried to encourage new, and not-too-well-known playwrights too. With Naak, Kalpomon and Dhuni Stambha, we introduced a new author Kajal Sengupta and also produced Sokratiser Jabanbandi by Dr. Sisir Kumar Das, which was later telecast through Kolkata Doordarshan.

Cast & Credits
Stranger                 Sanjib Sarkar
Sujata                     Amrita Mukherjee
Nirupam                  Susnata Bhattacharjyay
Police Officer          Srikanta Manna
Yudhistir                  Parthasarathi Chandra
Menoka                   Kankabati Bandyopadhyay
Prasenjit                  Ashish Mazumder
Raghabendra          Parthasarathi Sengupta
Peon                        Sanjoy Das

Light                        Badal Das
Music                      Disari Chakraborty
Set Design              Sandipsuman Bhattacharjya
Sound                      Pinaki Mukherjee

Playwright               Snehasish Bhattacharyay
Director                   Sima Mukhopadhyay

Contacts
Director, Samstab
37B, Pratapaditya Road, Kolkata- 700026
Ph: 033-23469492
M: +91 9830302351
E: shekhar26march@gmail.com

A Review by Prof. Manohar Khushalani
Published earlier as ‘Intertwined Lives’ in IIC Diary Nov-Dec 2010 Issue

Indian theatre professionals have been complaining about lack of contemporary indigenous playwrights. But a crop of new playwrights is emerging. Abhishek Bhattacharya’s ‘Nothing Will Happen Between Us’ and Anushka Ravi Shankar’s ‘Phoenix’ come to one’s mind. The latest new playwright to hit the horizon is Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a seasoned journalist; whose first play, ‘Everything Personal’, was presented by Yatrik under the direction of Bhaskar Ghosh. Incidentally, all the three plays were produced by the India International Center, though the first two were presented by Ruchika Theatre Group at IIC earlier.

Mukhopadhyay’s precisely written script is about what happens when Everything Personal leaks into the public domain.  The play revolves around a radio reality show. The show has listeners phoning in, and, using made-up names, answering very personal questions, hopefully truthfully – since they are promised by the Radio Channel that their identities will be kept concealed. The story revolves around two couples whose lives get intertwined due to the radio show. Vivek (Sunit Tandon) and Nupur (Rupali Sharma) are a lovey-dovey couple who have Ganesh, (Vishaal Sethia) and Madhuri (Isha Joshi) as frequent visitors, often coming over for dinner. Vivek is intrigued by the show and is uncontrollably attracted to it with his thrill-seeking temperament. As Vivek is artfully drawn in by the Radio Jockey (Aarti Nayar) to reveal intimate secrets of his life, it creates a turmoil in the lives of the remaining three. For one, Vivek had a previous relationship with Madhuri, which he confessed about on the radio show, without revealing her identity – though, it didn’t take long for the spouses to guess. As the shows progressed, the pressure of keeping the listeners entertained led to unprecedented brinkmanship on Vivek’s part. So much so, that he inadvertently revealed a deep dark secret of his life which shocked even the radio channel.

Bhaskar’s taught direction did full justice to Mukhopadhyay’s script which kept the audience on tenterhooks. Sunit Tandon’s rendition of an unfathomable liar, who keeps others guessing as to whether he was lying or not, was well crafted. Arti Nayar, Rupali Sharma and Vishaal Sethia gave competent performances. Sinia Dugal and Ramesh Thakur as Vivek’s parents provided the appropriate support, however, Isha Joshi needs to work on her voice projection. The play was not just entertaining, but it also examined some issues regarding the high expectations of the younger generation and marital loyalty in a contemporary framework. One hopes that the Playwright will continue to write and contribute to the Indian theatre scene.

Published earlier as ‘Intertwined Lives’ in IIC Diary Nov-Dec 2010 Issue

A Review by Prof. Manohar Khushalani

IICs  Annual Day was celebrated with a fitting tribute to Munshi Premchand by dramatic renditions of four of his most well known short stories directed by Rajinder Nath and presented by Nepathya Foundation. All the four plays were really heartwarming epitomized by the Director’s deft presentation, which was minimalistic and intellectually stimulating, thus doing justice to the author’s own style of writing. Competent performances by all the actors, especially Mala Kumar, Rekha Johri,  Animesh Singhal and Gaurav Sehgal propelled the play.

Known as a pragmatist, social reality and pathos has been the focus of Premchan’s writings, which was also emulated by two of the plays performed that day; Shanti and Satgati. But, pathos isn’t the only emotion he could write about. In ‘Moteram Ji Shastri’, the story of a lovable charlatan, who, like Molier’s Mock Doctor, gives us twinkle-eyed humour of unbelievable situations. But, despite his wife’s warnings, of not getting entangled with women, Moteram ends up becoming the Queen’s physician, enchanting her with his gift of poetic gab, only to be kicked unceremoniously out by the guards.

Bade Bhai Sahab, a light-hearted story of sibling rivalry between two brothers, one of whom is five years elder to the other. While the elder brother is prone to sermonize the younger one; on the need to take studies seriously, much to his own embarrassment, the younger one catches up with him as he gets promoted each year. Unfortunately, the older one stays put in the same class. Charmingly enacted, the mirthful story ends with food for thought. Is educational qualification really superior to wisdom laden experience?

Published earlier in IIC Diary

Review as published in IIC Diary

Playwright: James Graham

Director: Ajay Khatri

Group: N.S.D. Diploma Production, New Delhi

Language: Hindi

Duration: 1 hr

The Play

The play Privacy is a story of a writer who is hiding all these years in her shell. She’s afraid of coming out in public and the social media. Heartbroken and after having a deep interaction with a psychoanalyst, she is determined to take on the world. She wants to write a play, meet new people, interact and experience their lives. Through the process of meeting she is introduced to the social media and technologies and learns how they are involved in surveillance. She unveils and reveals herself to society and ends up meeting someone similar.

Director’s Note

During my training in Direction at National School of Drama I tried exploring a new language of theatre in the contemporary world. Since past few years, I have been fascinated with technology, media and re-invention in theatre. In this era of globalization, I strive to locate a language that is mutually complementary to masses – as viewers and we as artists.

My interest in privacy and surveillance dates back to graduation days. Initially, social media always intrigued me instigating thoughts to question the way it interfered with our lives. I have extracted the recollections of collective impressions made on me in all these years in the play – Privacy.

This adaptation of the play involves gender inequality and how our society reacts to privacy and surveillance predominantly, of females begins from birth, continue into her teens till she matures. Then her next ‘milestone’ is when she belongs to the watchful eyes of her husband’s family. The unstated social activities and other social elements intrude and lay claim on her life. Through this narrative / performance, we try to express and understand how a hitherto unknown woman protects her privacy from being waylaid by agents of society. Though it is strange and difficult for anybody to firstly realize and then accept that there are now new weapons and systems being engaged to trap, track and control targets especially those considered disruptive by society which is also the State.  Our social, economic and political leanings are trapped by and handcuffed in a technologically – driven society. Surveillance is meant to intrude upon and deny privacy- a person struggles for his personal expression and existence amidst it’s, all pervasive and overpowering presence in our lives.

Violence erupts and flourishes to stop or counter state sponsored hostility. The State wields a powerful backup or ‘in the wings’, weapon of sophisticated technology-driven surveillance; destroying and disrupting natural human passages of vent: behavior, emotions, social, work, family or relationships. When an individual’s surveillance is used unopposed against his/ her/ or their own will.

The Director

Ajay Khatri is a graduate from National School of Drama. He is instrumental in guiding theater workshops and instilling these with creative energy befitting young independent theatre aspirants and groups, school, colleges and NGOs. Starting his journey in 2005 as director he presented: Surya Ki Antim Kiran Se Surya Ki Pehli Kiran Tak, Yayati, Illa, Komal Gandhar. He has worked and designed lights in national projects such as Othello, Comedy of Terrors, and Arjun Partigya among other experimental exploratory pieces include: Saturday Night and Privacy.

The Playwright

James Graham (born 1982) is a British playwright, television writer and actor. His work has been staged throughout the UK, at theatres including the Bush, Soho Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru and the National Theatre. He was discovered by, and has been a playwright – in – residence at, the Finborough Theatre.

He wrote the script for the film X+Y, which premiered in 2015. He has written The Culture, This House, Labour of Love, Little Madam,  The Whiskey Taster, The Vote, Finding Neverland, The Men and Sixty – Six Books among several others. His play Privacy had its world premiere at the Donmar Warehouse, London.

The Group

This play is being presented as a part of National School of Drama’s graduate showcase (class of 2018), which aims to provide a platform for emerging theatre practitioners, allowing them to share their work with a wider audience.

Cast & Credits

On Stage: Meenakshi Thapa, Sanjeev Jaiswal, Rachna Gupta, Debashree Chakrabarty, Bhagyashree Tarke & Rahul Kumar, Jayanta Rabha, Parag Barouah, Sayan, Shruti

Technical Team: Vishala Mahale, Saras

Lights: Sarthak

Animation: Priyansh

Music: Daood Husain, Vikesh Bisth, Sachin Rohilla, Mahadev Singh Lakhawat, Devika

Story: James Graham

Dramaturge: Ajay Khatri

Translation: Meenakshi Thapa

Adaptation, Design & Direction: Ajay Khatri

Playwright: Hara Bhattacharya

Director: Goutam Mukherjee

Group: Chhandam, West Bengal

Language: Bengali

Duration: 1 hr 40 mins

The Play

After 15 years of absence, veteran theatre actress Kamini returns to stage as the protagonist of  Euripides’ play Medea, directed by her ex-fiancé and famous theatre director Purushottam Dasgupta who had used Kamini’s acting ability and charm to make his plays successful, but had later married Ipshita, the daughter of an influential Minister. Kamini’s friend Kanchan is serving life-imprisonment for killing her new born male child out of vengeance towards her husband, who had got her previous pregnancies aborted since she was carrying a female foetus in her womb. For Kamini, Kanchan is the Medea of our time. Gradually Ipshita also starts identifying herself with Medea, Kanchan and Kamini. Kamini’s interview by a famous theatre critic Tonumoy, in Kolkata’s leading newspaper, reveals the present day story of several Medeas.

Director’s Note

I have tried my best to give the complex fabric of gender politics a modern stage-language by designing the play with the austerity that it deserves. It was a challenging and thrilling project for me as a director, to bring out the essence of the concept of an intricate and intense subject brilliantly depicted by the playwright. Ultimately, I can humbly say, with chiaroscuro light design, absorbing sounds and a relatable set-design, Medeara has become a brilliant play to watch.

The Director

Goutam Mukherjee started his theatre journey as an actor in 1985. He directed the play Moinuddiner Bhoot for the group Samay in 1993 which was awarded District’s Best Production by Paschimbanga Natya Academy. In 1994, Goutam joined Chhandam and started acting in many remarkable plays by the troupe under the direction of Late Sudhangsu Dey, the pioneer director of the troupe. In 2015, at Chhandam, Goutam directed the play Lajja written and compiled by him. The play Medeara is his second directorial work for the troupe Chhandam.

The Playwright

Hara Bhattacharya is an eminent playwright of West Bengal who has been active in Bengali theatre since 1987. Most of his plays have been produced by eminent directors like Bibhas Chakraborty, Biplab Bandopadhyay, Chandan Sen, Anirban Bhattacharya and others. Some of his remarkable plays are Nashta Asim, Noti o Ghorachor, Adbhut Andhar, Aguner Barnamala, Ashtitwer Akaar, Oedipus, Medeara. He was awarded with Sundaram Puraskar in 1990, and West Bengal Journalists Association’s Dishari Award for Best Playwright in 1996. His play Aguner Barnamala was staged in Bharat Rang Mahotsav in 2007.

The Group

Chhandam was founded by a few young theatre enthusiasts of Raiganj in 1962. Since then it has been traversing the path of theatre uncompromisingly. It celebrated its golden jubilee in 2012 and has almost 60 outstanding plays to its credit, one of which has been crowned with presidential award and some of which have been honoured with several other awards. It has established its own theatre auditorium where most of the theatre groups across the state regularly stage their productions. Besides producing plays, the group frequently arranges seminars and conducts intimate discussions and workshops to develop the physical skills as well as the mental capabilities of the theatre aspirants of the group.  

Cast & Credits

Kamini / Medea: Srabani Dey

Kanchan: Barnali Nandi

Jason: Koushik Das

Tonumoy: Santanu Chatterjee

Purushottam Dasgupta / Creon: Goutam Mukherjee

Reporter: Sumitra Bhowmick

Ipshita: Ratna Basu

Tapan: Subrata Talapatra

Satyada:  Satyabrata Deb

Suman / Photo Journalist: Suvra Ghosh,

Medearas / Group of girls:   Sangita Ghosh, Shilpa Deb, Ritwika Biswas, Debolina Paul

Stage & Costume Design:  Neel Koushik

Stage Designing Assistance:  Koushik Saha, Goutam Basak

Light Design & Application:  Soumen Chakraborty

Choreography & Music:  Deb Kumar Pal

Music Application:  Anirban Mandal

Make-up:  Bhanu Mitra

Production Design:  Shubhabrata Sinha Roy

Playwright:  Hara Bhattacharya

Director:  Goutam Mukherjee