Playwright: Henrik Ibsen
Adapter: Ila Arun
Director: K. K. Raina
Group: Surnai Theatre and Folk Arts Foundation, Mumbai
Language: Hindi
Duration: 2 hrs 20 mins

The Play
This is an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s controversial play Ghosts which was first staged in 1881 causing quite a stir. This is the story of the family of late Maharaja Kunwar Viraj Bhanu Pratap Singh, whose death is shrouded in mystery, talked of in whispers, and hidden in the inscrutable eyes of his widow, Yashodhara Baisaheb. As the story unfolds, we see the causes of the break-down of families, symbolised in the destruction of the havelis they inhabit. But yet the ghosts of the past cannot be destroyed. The play deals with the issue of domestic violence and suppression of women, whose voices are silenced by tradition and society. The voices of Ibsen’s women, just as the voices of women all over the world, need to be heard.

Director’s Note
Ghost is a family drama that deals with the conflict between generations due to changing human conditions, beliefs and customs which are handed down from one generation to another, thus degenerating the social system that was created to protect and nurture. These beliefs and customs turn into ghosts and keep haunting us in one way or the other. This relationship between past and future can make our present unbearable if not understood and analysed well. Ibsen had said “we sail with a corpse in cargo”. Therefore these ghosts need to be re-examined in the light of each individual’s experience, and socio-political and religious system he is confronted with. If not, the most gifted of society’s future generation will face destruction.

The Director
With over 30 years of experience actor, director and writer, K. K. Raina is a graduate of the National School of Drama, New Delhi. He joined Surnai theatre group as an actor but soon was entrusted with additional responsibility of direction. He has been directing and acting in all its plays since 1983 and is amongst the earliest members of the core group.
He has acted in over three hundred theatrical performances and directed over two hundred fifty shows. He has directed two short T.V. films and has been writing, directing and producing T.V. serials for Kashir Channel independently. He has acted in prime roles in over 30 Bollywood films and continues to do so. In the past he had acted in many T.V. serials.

The Playwright
Henrik Johan Ibsen (20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as ‘the father of realism’, and one of the most influential playwrights of his time. His major works include Brand, Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, Emperor and Galilean, A Doll’s House, Hedda Gabler, Ghosts, The Wild Duck, When We Dead Awaken, Rosmersholm, and The Master Builder. He is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare, and by the early 20th century A Doll’s House became world’s most performed play.

The Group
In 1982, Surnai began its journey with the twin objectives of promoting the folk arts of India and staging contemporary plays which are thought-provoking and focus on relevant social issues. In 2016, the group re-established itself under the aegis of its newly-established Surnai Theatre and Folk Arts Foundation. This foundation is committed to the uplift of women, starting with the survival of the girl-child, her literacy, health and the seemingly insurmountable problem of child-marriage and widowhood. The Surnai Foundation, with its focus on folk theatre, puppetry, and traditional story-telling forms like the phad hopes to reach out not only to urban audiences but also to rural platforms to carry these themes to villages in far-flung areas.

Cast & Credits
Yashodhra Baisa                            Ila Arun
Purohitji                                          K. K. Raina
Yuvraj Bana                                    Rahul Bagga
Thomas                                          Rajeev Pandey / Gaurav Amlani
Reena                                            Mia Maelzer

Music Arrangement                       Ila Arun.
Sets & Lights                                 Salim Akhtar
Music Operation                            Sanjoy Daz

Adapted by                                   Ila Arun
Director                                        K K Raina

Contacts
Director, Surnai Theatre and Folk Arts Foundation
401, Paradise Apts, 7th Road, Santa Cruz East
Mumbai- 700055
M: +91 9820047176
E: antardhwani5@gmail.com

Playwright & Director: Pranjal K Saikia
Group: Team Indipity, Guwahati
Language: Assamese
Duration: 1 hr 30 mins

The Play
A retired teacher of Chengpung village of Assam and Nagaland border, Mr. Dharmeshwar Bora has a small happy family – his wife, a goat and a dog. Although Mr. Bora has had a dream to be a car owner since he was young, his dream became stronger with the provident fund money he received on retirement. On being a car owner, he realised that it is not easy to survive in a bordering village, due to car-lifters, militant’s etc. Day by day Mr. Bora became very possessive about his car, to the extent that the fear of losing his beloved car took away his sound sleep. The story takes a turn when Mr. Bora tries to save his car from such circumstances (Border miseries seem to have no end…..).

Director’s Note
Every border (national or state) has its own stories to tell. Living in a village of Assam and Nagaland border, I have experienced the border that has fear, relentless mountains and way-faring rivers. The border that has tasted blood, militant movements, illegal arms, cannabis (Ganja), banned pseudoephedrine tablets etc. The common and innocent people of bordering villages have endless miseries; their dreams are meant to be shot. This play deals with the struggle of their survival, aspirations, dreams and downfall.

The Director & Playwright
Pranjal K Saikia is a commerce graduate from Guwahati University and holds a diploma in Dramatic arts from the Himachal Cultural Research Forum, Mandi (Himachal Pradesh). Since then he has worked as an actor, theatre director, script writer and also theatre trainer in different parts of India including Delhi, Bhopal, Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura. Few of the important plays that he has acted in are Lower Depths, Andher Nagari Choupat Raja, Gaatha- the 1st text, Ashaad Ka Ek Din, Yatra Subha Houk etc. His major directorial works are Badal Sircar’s Ballavpur ke Rupkatha and self-written Bhumura, Status Complicated, Indipity, Bhou, Kiri Daloi (Jaintia Play) etc. Apart from these he has worked with different NGOs on different social issues in Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Tripura. One of his plays Indipity was selected for the 8th Theatre Olympics, 2018, and his Play Bhou was selected for the inauguration of 20th BRM, 2019 at Dibrugarh. Both of these plays were written & directed by him.

The Group
Established in 2012 at Guwahati, Assam Team Indipity is a group of young and energetic Theatre Artists. Team Indipity conceived with the idea of raising consciousness about social and psychological issues through meaningful theatre activities. Right from its inception the group also conducts theatre workshops, street play in all over north-east. The group is dedicated towards establishing new practices of art forms in the drama world and to articulate talents both physically and mentally. The group has performed in various theatre festivals including 20th Bharat Rang Mahotsav.

Cast & Credits
Dharmeshwar                               Bora Monuj Saikia
Sakuntala                                     Rimjhim Deka
Naga Militants                              Arup Jyoti Rabha, Gokul Mipun, Utpal Hazarika
Goat                                             Monalisha Rajbongshi
Dog                                              Suraj Das
Villagers/Body Movements          Abhijit Chutia, Abhijit Roy, Kulumoni Bharali, Rijumoni Deori                                                                      Jyotishman Kaushik, Sanjiv Das Rakesh Bora, Bhaskar Dutta, Rinku                                                           Bora, Bidyut Bikash Borah, Desh Adhikari, Nandini Das, Achurjya Bora

Light                                            Tapan Borua
Music                                          Mandeep Mahanta
Costume                                    Rijumoni Deori
Production Manager                   Achyut Saikia
Assistant Director                      Gokul Mipun and Bhaskar Dutta

Playwright & Director                 Pranjal K Saikia

Contacts
Director, Team Indipity
Ivy Enclave, Flat No – 404, Bye Lane No. 9
Dr Zakir Hussain Road, Sorumotoria
Down Town, Guwahati – 781006
Assam, P.O- Dispur
M: +91 8638846349, 8638002401
E: teamindipity@gmail.com

Director: Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry
Group: The Company Theatre, Chandigarh
Language: Hindi
Duration: 1 hr 15 mins

The Play & Director’s Note
The play Gumm Hai has been sourced from many references including The Seven Stages of Grieving, a performance text by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman, and Anuradha Kapur’s play Nali Wali Larki.
The story begins with a child going missing in a village, and examines how an inexplicable loss irrevocably changes the dynamics within a family and the community. The varied skeins of narratives were dovetailed to examine and understand grief, loss, death, human affirmation and survival. This play was a way of engaging with the world, dealing with lost memories, and retrieval and archiving of these memories through performance and storytelling. The plays recurring leitmotif follows Pinki, a young girl of eleven who has gone missing from her village for two months. It portrays the broader, more abstract idea of something precious that has been lost, never to return. The narrative follows the experience of ‘everywoman’, chronicling her worldly grief and joys. This devised performance draws from traditional, popular and contemporary cultural practices, resorting fundamentally to the storytelling techniques that include song, dance and real life issues. Loss here is not communicated conventionally, but in an ironical, humorous and irreverent manner. However, despite the stories dealing with a subject that can be considered dark and brooding, the dominant atmosphere is one of affirmation, dance and song and sharing of stories.  The overall tenor is the resilience and strength of the human condition i.e. the instinct for survival.
During the process of putting the play together, we tried to juggle the role of the storyteller, the actor and the social commenter. We made no attempt to preach, judge or invoke any feeling of rancor on either the human or social condition, but to seek a human connection between the personal and the public.
Whenever one develops something new, whether it is an agglomeration of memories, anecdotes, songs, poems or personal or historical experiences, the aim is to uncover or discover the ‘internal logic’ of what appears to be a set of random, disjointed ideas. In this instance, the effort has simply been to tell a story within several stories, all coalesced together, to create a story of one’s own.

The Director
NSD alumnus, Dr. Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry has a master’s degree in the History of Arts. In 1976 she moved to Mumbai where she worked in schools and colleges, doing theatre workshops and children’s theatre. In 1979, she moved to Bhopal and was associated with Rang Mandal, a theatre repertory attached to the multi-arts complex, Bharat Bhavan. In 1984, she came to Chandigarh where she set up her own theatre group, The Company. Along with international teaching assignments, she has also been teaching in the Department of Indian Theatre, Punjab University since 1990. Under her guidance the group has participated in major national and international festivals. Dr. Chowdhry is the recipient of several awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Shiromani Bhasa Vibhag, Ford Foundation Award, and the Padma Shri which she received in 2011.

The Group
When Dr. Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry formed her own group, The Company in 1984 in Chandigarh, she was looking for a vocabulary for training urban actors in traditional forms that were available in Punjab. The Naqqal tradition, through which she explored her work, belonged to rural Punjab and did not have a well-developed theatrical tradition in terms of aesthetics, technique and style. By working with the natives for the last twenty-eight years, along with urban actors, a way of working has emerged which combines, through fusion and differences, a new way of looking at history, performance space, image and text. Most of the plays produced by The Company have been translated by the eminent poet Surjit Patar, with music composed by BV Karanth.

Cast & Credits
On Stage                                    Mahesh Saini, Davinder Pal Singh, Surinder Arora, Chaman Lal,                                                               Ambika Kamal, Gursewak, Gurnam

Singer                                        Pamela Singh
Musicians                                  Satnam, Meher Chand, Amarjit, Bhadur Chand, Ram Singh
Light Designer                           Daulat Ram Vaid
Associate Director                     Vansh Bhardwaj

Director                                      Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry

Contacts
The Company Theatre
H.No. 9 Sector- 4, Chandigarh- 160001
M: 9891186750, 9814202344
E: blackiron686@gmail.com

Playwright: Euripides
Director: Vasilisa Tepliakova
Group: Goloborodko’s Workshop, Russia
Language: Russian
Duration: 1 hr

The Play
The play begins with two gods, Athena and Poseidon, descending from the heavens to discuss the aftermath of the war between the invading Greek armies and the people of the city of Troy. Poseidon has supported the Trojans, whereas Athena has supported the Greeks. However, she has now turned against them since the Greek warrior, Ajax, raped the Trojan princess Cassandra in Athena’s temple, which the goddess sees as an act of great disrespect. As a result, she has called on Poseidon, as well as Zeus, to work with her and create stormy seas to punish the Greeks on their journey home. The gods exit, and the mortal plot unfolds. The stage shows a tent with the recently enslaved women of Troy. Hecuba, the former queen of Troy, laments the destruction of her city, and the horrible treatment her family has endured. The Chorus, made up of her former handmaidens and other noble Trojan women, joins her, and together they sing, wondering what will become of them when Greeks will be their masters.

Director’s Note
The Trojan Women is based on the play by Euripides with the same title. This performance is an effort to understand tragedy as seen today, and to make the ancient text contemporary, but at the same time trying to keep traditions of ancient tragedy intact. Without the use of any props we are trying to create theatre with bodies, voices and psychological Russian theatre. It is an eclectic production with modern sounds and electric lights but with a deep and tragic soul. We are not trying to make the play’s situation similar to the contemporary problems, but we hope that the audience will create its own associations.

The Director
Vasilisa Tepliakova is a young director from Moscow. She graduated and post-graduated from one of the best theatre universities in Russia – GITIS. Nowadays she is working as a teacher and director in the Institute of the Theatre Arts in Moscow. She is a specialist in contemporary theatre with all her performances very different and experimental, not only with regard to the text but with regard to the audience as well. Her performances as a director are Dear Elena Sergeevna (2017), The Slide (Moscow, 2018), The Trojan Women (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 2019), Yerma-Show (Moscow, 2019).

The Playwright
Euripides (480 – 406 BC) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians of whom a significant number of plays have survived. Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.

The Group
Institute of Theatre Arts’ Goloborodko’s Workshop is a group of young actors who are studying in Moscow in the Institute of Theatre Arts. They produce classical performances that are contemporary. The group’s method of acting is based on Stanislavsky’ system, with an attempt to deal with the psychology of the play while keeping it radical and contemporarily aesthetic.

Cast & Credit
On Stage                   Arina Rozhkova, Anastasia Belova, Marina Frolova, Ekaterina Berezina,
Anna Melnichenko, Olga Bogdanova, Svetlana Kuleshova, Timur Shukshin,                                              Mikhail Losev, Artem Komlev

Light & Sound           Oksana Kolesnikova

Playwright                  Euripides
Director                      Vasilisa Tepliakova

Contacts
Goloborodko’s Workshop
Botanicheskaya Street, 21, Moscow
Russian Federation, Russia-127427
M: +7 9055427370
E: anyabloggerofficial@gmail.com

Playwright & Director: Heisnam Tomba
Group: Kalakshetra Imphal
Language: Manipuri
Duration: 1 hr 5 mins

The Play
The play is an attempt to interweave two folktales – Yamata no Orochi from Japan, and Keibu Keioiba from Manipur. Yamata no Orochi is a serpent-dragon in Japanese myth, who has eight heads and eight tails, and its enormous body reaches across eight valleys and eight hills. It is a legendary story of how a young ingenious boy Susanoo saves a beautiful lady Kushinada from Yamata who was about to devour her. Yamata had already devoured seven of her elder sisters. In the Manipuri tale, Keibu Keioiba is a creature having half tiger and half human features. He kidnaps a young girl Thabaton, who was home alone. However, a clever old lady manages to make Thabaton’s seven brothers take revenge and save their sister.
The play highlights the virtues of sacrifice and martyrdom through the conversation between the mythical images of Japan and Manipur interwoven together to tell the stories of two hilltops.

Director’s Note
The play is an attempt to capture two different cultural tales and explore the possibilities of interpretation of these two cultures. It is an intercultural experiment of stories, music, dance and performing traditions. However, the attempt is also to give a contemporary meaning to the rich folklore of both the cultures of Japan and Manipur.

The Director & Playwright
Heisnam Tomba began his exploration of the world of theatre with his parents, Kanhailal and Sabitri, both well-known Manipuri artists. From them he received extensive training to be a director, playwright, music director and actor-trainer. Heisnam Tomba absorbed finer nuances of these skills early in life. He has written eight plays; has directed more than ten dramas including Kshudito Pashan by Rabindranath Tagore and An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen; and has been the music director for two of Kalakshetra’s best known productions, Dakghar and Draupadi. He specializes in voice and movement training, and has taught at institutions in Delhi, Mumbai, Mysore, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Guwahati, Patna, Heggodu, Bangladesh and Singapore. His versatility received recognition when he was awarded the National Sanskriti Award and Senior Fellowship by the Ministry of Culture, New Delhi. He has directed an off-beat feature film Nobap in Manipuri.

The Group
Established in 1969 by late Shri Heisnam Kanhailal, Kalakshetra Manipur has evolved a distinctive theatrical style that is predominantly non-verbal. The group is dedicated towards expressing the realities of oppression and resistance that are a part of day-to-day living in Manipur today, through plays like Pebet and Memoirs of Africa. Other major productions of the group are Tamna-Lai (Haunting Spirit), Keibu-Keioiba (Half Man-Half Tiger), Khomdon Meiroubi, Imphal ’73, Izzat, Karna, Lajja, Kshudito Pashan, Draupadi, Dakghar, Samnadraba Mami (Disjointed Image), Hungry Stone and An Enemy of the People.

Cast & Credits
Yamata                                           Maisnam Momocha
Keibu Keioiba (1)                            Kshetrimayum Priyobrata Singh
Keibu Keioiba (2)                            Pangambam Tyson Meitei
Susanoo                                         Romario Thoudam@Paona
Iben Hanubi                                    Kh. Sanjukta Devi
Mapa                                              Ahanthem Upendro Mangang
Mama                                             Huidrom Holina
Kushinada                                      Roslin Akoijam Chanu
Thaba                                             Thangjam Salini Devi
Mithingai                                        Guru Koken
Chorus                                           Takhellambam Budhichandra
Anantakumar Longjam
Lanchingna Laishram

Light                                               Laishram Ibochouba
Sound Designer                             Oinam Prasanjit (Boby)
Music Arranger                              Moirangthem Bise
Music Operator                              Moirangthem Prasanta Singh
Crafts                                             Ch. Kunjakeshwar
Costume                                        Khumanthem Sanjukta
Make-up                                        Huidrom Holina
Set & props                                   Guru Koken
Theme Picture Sketches               Wahwngbam Robin
Yamata Written by                         Prof. Devraj
Translation (Manipuri)                    Prof. IS Kangjam
Translation (Manipuri to Eng.)       Dr. Usham Rojio
Production Manager                       Kh. Ushakanta Singh
Assistant Director                           Pangambam Tyson Meitei
Production                                      Kalakshetra Manipur
Acknowledgements                       Phurailatpam Nandakumar Sharma
Ningombam Jadumani

Playwright & Director                     Heisnam Tomba

Contacts
Director
Kalakshetra Manipur
Langol Laimanai, Lamphel, Imphal – 795004
M: +91 7641031211
E: kalakshetra1969manipur@gmail.com

Playwright & Director: Phillippe Pelen Baldini
Group: Surya Performance Lab, Auroville (T.N.)
Language: English
Duration: 1 hr

The Play
This is the story of a young boy from Nepal who has been abducted and taken away from his family and home in the Himalayan Mountains. Kidnapped and abused, he now lives in a slum in a big city in India. He is all alone in the world, living stifled in his small room. He tries, day after day, to find in his body a door that opens to the ‘Vast’, a path to his Himalaya, and his own limitless nature, beyond confinement and misery. An encounter with a strange character helps him on his journey. This is the god Hanuman, with monkey and human features, heroic, wise, and full of humour.
Vast is an organic, physical and dance based performance that is hypnotic, emotional and universal. It showcases how the human body carries in itself the memory of the ‘Vast’. How the human body – beyond ruptures, oppression and confinements – has the nostalgia of nature and vastness.

Director’s Note
For the young boy whose childhood and dreams were shattered, the journey from confinement to freedom is a process of reconnection with nature and with himself, without any limitation. In this journey he is helped by Hanuman. Together they reconnect with the ‘Vastness’ they both come from. Hanuman is introduced here as a special character, the symbol of primordial memory. The play proposes a work on the memory of the body.
We are also exploring the relationship between body and the mother-tongue, between body and the ancient mantric poetry, between body and words. We draw upon contemporary dance, theatre, vocal work, and even aerial dance to explore this inner territory between confinement and Vastness. From gravity to weightlessness, it is also an exploration of the body being free in three dimensions, and of its expansion into Vastness.

The Director & Playwright
Born in France, Phillippe Pelen Baldini is the founder of Surya Performance Lab in India. He had earlier founded the International Talipot Theatre in Reunion Island, France. He has created and directed 40 shows with dancers, actors, musicians, and video creators from Africa, India, Europe and territories in the Indian Ocean. His productions have been welcomed at Opera de Paris, Théâtre de la Ville de Paris and well-known festivals in Honk Kong, Singapore, Italy, Brazil and South Africa. He has toured and worked in 82 countries. His shows have received awards in Poland, Scotland, France, Italy and South Africa, among other countries. He also directs workshops worldwide with professional dance companies, universities, townships and communities. He is interested in indigenous culture and has worked a lot with people from different ethnic groups in South Africa including the San communities as well as other different communities.

The Group
Surya Performance Lab is a dance-theatre company based in Auroville, India. In its 50-year long history it has worked with devoted artists and has performed in more than 82 countries. This professional company is directed by Philippe Pelen Baldini and Thierry Moucazambo. The group welcomes dancers, actors, photographers, video designers, painters, etc. from India and all over the world. Surya Performance Lab endeavours to create a bridge between art, science and consciousness. Inspired by the ‘First people’, indigenous cultures, ancient traditions, new discoveries in the field of body-mind consciousness and quantum science, it creates a contemporary expression and art, a new dramaturgy holistic and humanist, open to nature and the planet.

Cast & Credits
Performers                                      Thierry Moucazambo, Gopal Dalami

Light Technician                              Ashwin Ezhumalai

Assistant Director                           Thierry Moucazambo
Director and Choreographer          Philippe Pelen Baldini

Contacts
Director, Surya Performance Lab
E-4, Sunship Apartments, Auroville, Bommayapalayam,
Tamil Nadu, Auroville, Tamil Nadu 605101
M: +91 8903869078
E: suryaperformancelab@auroville.org.in

Playwright: Girish Karnad
Director: Sanjib Ray
Group: Kathakriti, Kolkata
Language: Bengali
Duration: 2 hrs 20 mins

The Play
Kapil and Devdutta of Dharmapur are the heroes of our play. One comes from a Brahmin family and the other is a blacksmith’s son. Devdutta falls in love with the daughter of a gold-merchant, Padmini. He vows that if he marries Padmini, he would sacrifice his hands to Ma Kali, and his head to Rudra Dev. Eventually, Devdutta marries Padmini. They visit Ujjayini when Padmini is pregnant. Devdutta becomes furious when he discovers the intimacy between Kapil and Padmini. Sending Kapil and Padmini to the Rudra temple, he goes to the Kali temple and cuts his head off near the feet of Ma Kali. When Kapil returns, he sacrifices his life seeing his friend lying beheaded. Padmini too moves to do the same but Goddess Kali appears and stops her. Abiding by the direction of the goddess, she fixes the heads of Kapil and Devdutta, but on each other’s body. Although the two friends are offered life again by the grace of Ma, their heads are transposed…

Director’s Note
In 1972, Girish Karnad himself translated his play Hayavadana from Kannada into English in the eminent Theatre Journal Enact. The director of the Bengali theatre troupe Nakshatra, Shri Shyamal Ghosh requested the poet and litterateur Shri Shankha Ghosh to translate the play into Bengali at the earliest as the group was determined to stage it as their next production. Unfortunately, it was never performed by the group. Shyamal Ghosh before his demise entrusted Kathakriti to perform this play and it was revised by poet Shankha Ghosh. The present project is thus a modest endeavour of Kathakriti to accomplish the unfulfilled dream of Late Shyamal Ghosh, their preceptor.

The Director
Sanjib Ray, a retired Senior Manager in Allahabad Bank, has directed 9 one-act and 19 full-length plays for Kathakriti. He joined Nakshatra in 1967 and worked with legends like Shyamal Ghosh, Mohit Chattopadhyay, Mamata Chattopadhyay and Navendu Sen; and later worked under the direction of Jnanesh Mukherjee and Sohag Sen. Sanjib joined the drama section of Yuvavani under Akashvani as a news reader, actor, producer and reciter in 1969. He actively participated in audio plays by Akashvani commercial broadcasting. In 1989, he formed his own group Kathakriti and has remained its President-Director. He has also been the chief editor of Kathakriti Natyapatra since its inception. He was awarded the Dishari Purashkar as Best Director twice and the Ritwick Ghatak Memorial Award also as Best Director.
Recently a book, narrating his tireless journey in theatre for the last 50 years, was published and unveiled by eminent actress Smt. Maya Ghosh. At the book launch a number of eminent personalities spoke on his excellence and benevolence.

The Playwright
Girish Karnad (May 19, 1938 – June 10, 2019) was an Indian playwright, author, actor, and film director whose movies and plays, written largely in Kannada, explore the present by way of the past.

The Group
Kathakriti has staged 9 short plays and 19 full-length plays till date under the direction of Shri Sanjib Ray. Kathakriti has also initiated audio plays, workshops and seminars on theatre, in different schools and colleges. It has also performed during the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan under the Central Ministry. Since its inception, Kathakriti holds a drama festival every year on the occasion of its birthday. The publication Kathakriti Natyapatra is also an asset for drama enthusiasts.

Cast & Credits
On Stage                                        Sanjib Ray, Ashok Ganguly, Nabanita Mukherjee Das, Shambhu                                                               Nath Shaw, Dipankar Haider, Bindia Ghosh, Kinjal Nanda, Parijat Das

Dance & Chorus                             Jayanta Ghosh, Shraddha Chanda, Poulami Bag,
Barnamala Chatterjee, Sayani Roy, Chowdhury Laboni Sarkar,
Mithun Gupta
Singers & Accompanists                Shubhadeep Guha, Sushruta Goswami, Pritam Ghosh, Shubhajit                                                               Dev, Susmita Sarma, Jayanta Saha

Set                                                 Chanchal Haider
Light & Accompanists                    Dipankar Dey, Ashim Das, Arup Das
Make-up                                         Biswajit Haldar
Backstage Management                Sourav Chatterjee, Bapi Sarkar, Arup Kumar Deb
Team Leader                                   Debasish Naskar

Playwright                                      Girish Karnad
Director                                          Sanjib Ray

Contacts
Director, Kathakriti
TG 2/10, Teghoria
Kolkata- 700157
Ph: (033) 24260404
M: +91 9836444886
E: tgkathakriti@gmail.com

Playwright: Manaobi MM
Director: Yumnam Rajendra
Group: Peace Maker Artistes’ Association, Manipur
Language: Manipuri
Duration: 1 hr 30 mins

The Form
Shumang Leela, literally translated as Courtyard Theatre has been the mainstay of the Meiteis, the Tibeto-Burman people who have inhabited the Imphal valley since time immemorial. Originally a form of nautanki, Shumang Leela metamorphosed into full-fledged theatre over the years. A unique feature of this art form is that the audience surrounds the stage from all sides. Male artistes not only enact the roles of female characters to perfection, but also sing just like women do. The content of the leela can be comedy, folk-lore, legends or social commentaries.

The Performance
Prince Naothingkhong was the third son of emperor Urakonthouba of Manipur (568-663 AD). A stubborn young man, he ran away to the hills where he found Petanga, a beautiful girl who was the only child of Shelloi village chief. Naothingkhong married Petanga secretly and promised her that she would be the queen of Manipur when he sat on the throne. The villagers revolted and wished to kill Naothingkhong because his father was a bitter enemy of the clan. So he escaped from the house of Petanga and sought asylum under the patronage of Khuman King. Petanga was punished by her own people and had to escape. Naothingkhong ascended the Khuman throne and married the Khuman princess. No sooner did Petanga get the news, she invoked the goddess Yumjao Lairembi and vanished with her last words of lament, “man has no power to realise true love”.

Director’s Note
The story of the play is based on legendary events of Manipur that possibly took place during 665-785 AD. The actors have worked hard to represent the age-old society and to convey the emotions of the characters during a month-long Manipuri Shumang Leela workshop. This experimental production is still in its initial stage, rather incomplete and unfinished I would say, and has a long way to go.

The Director
Yumnam Rajendra is a renowned theatre director, playwright and actor. He was trained in Manipuri theatre under the noted director Heisnam Kanhailal from 1973 to 1982. He worked as a director of Panthoibi Natya Mandir, Imphal and participated in many national and international festivals of India and abroad. He was awarded the Vayoshrestha Samman Award in 2017, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2007, award for sculpture in tribal wood carving art of Manipur and Junior and Senior fellowships by the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India. At present he is a visiting guru of the Department of Theatre, Manipur University of Culture.

The Playwright
Manaobi M.M. is a renowned writer of radio-plays, Shumang Leela, Manipuri film-screenplays and lyrics. He has written more than 50 plays and published above 20 plays. He is presently working as the President of Cine Writers and Playwrights Forum of Manipur.

The Group
Peace Maker Artistes’ Association, Manipur was established on 5th of August 2002 in Imphal. This association is an autonomous body and one of the leading Shumang Leela groups of Manipur. It has participated in various state, national and international festivals like 20th Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2019, 2nd Delhi International Art Festival 2008 at FICCI Auditorium organized by NSD, 8TH Delhi International Art Festival 2014 supported by Sangeet Natak Akademi at Meghdoot Theatre Complex etc. The group has produced more than 40 plays.

Cast and Credits
Naothingkhong                                         Yumnam Arunkumar Singh
Petanga                                                    Yumnam Milan
Keirunghangbi                                           Senjam Deepson
Leima Naman Chaobi                               Bishesh Huirem
Khuman Ningthou                                     Laishram Ibotombi Singh
Amukangoiba                                            Sorokhaibamibohanbi Singh
Luwang Ningthou, Pakchao                      Athokpam Santosh Singh
Moirang Ningthou                                     Naorem Tamphasana Meetei
Goddess                                                   Maibam Roshan
Soldier                                                       Gurumayum Rajesh Sharma
Soldier                                                       Thoudam Premjit Singh
Soldier                                                       Thoudam Premananda Singh
Deity                                                           Leiphrakpam Survchand
Deity                                                           Sougrakpam Chinglennganba

Musician / Female-Vocal                             Linkmabam Biky
Musician / Singer                                         Naorem Jeetenkumar Meetei
Musician / Actor                                           Seramromajit
Musician / Actor                                           Laimujam Binoy Singh
Music Director                                             Moirangthem Robert Meetei

Playwright                                                    Manaobi M M
Director                                                        Yumnam Rajendra

Contacts
Mr. Yumnam Rajendra
Peace Maker Artistes’ Association
Paona Bazar, Governor Road
Near G.M. Hotel
Imphal- 795001, Manipur
M: +91 9366427125, 9856108385
E: peacemakerartistes@gmail.com

Playwright: Irwin Shaw
Adapter & Director: Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha
Group: NIPA Rangmandali, Lucknow
Language: Hindi
Duration: 1 hr 30 mins

The Play
This is a story of an unknown place and time where a war is being fought for the past two years. On the aforesaid day six soldiers who were killed two days ago are being buried in the battlefield. Suddenly, these soldiers rise and refuse to be buried. These dead soldiers have their own logic i.e. that wars are fought and the common man dies to feed the ambitions, business and greed of a handful of power-hungry people. The corpses say that they wish to live… the life of a farmer, of a son, with friends, with their beloved… enjoying nature, relationships and beauty that this life is endowed with. The women from their homes are called to convince them but that too doesn’t work. In the end the general tries to blow them with a machine gun but the corpses come out of their graves and stand amidst the people, thus underlining the importance of life, and drawing the attention towards the horrors of war generated by sheer greed.

Director’s Note
Written in 1936 after the First World War, Irwin Shaw’s play Bury the Dead is an anti-war story. The play boldly opposes the use of the common man as fodder for war and violence, to fulfil the personal gains of a few people. The play also conveys the unlived dreams of dead soldiers, and those whom they leave behind to pay the price of war. The near and dears of the soldiers go through extreme trauma emotionally, socially and financially. Today violence, terror and war are being justified in the name of religion and nationalism. In these times, I feel, this play of Irwin Shaw is as contemporary as it was when he wrote it. This play was a challenge for the creative vision since sometimes it is expressionist and at places idealistic. We have tried to convey these factors with the help of scenography, lights, movements, make-up, costumes and acting. I felt that instead of translating, an adaptation would convey the feeling to the Indian audience more effectively. The presentation is for the audience to enjoy, introspect and analyse.

Director and Adapter
Recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, and former director of Bharatendu Natya Academy, Lucknow, Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha took his training in theatre from BNA, Lucknow, in 1976-77. He has organized many theatre workshops and his directorial ventures have been staged nationally and internationally. His original plays include Tukde, Veer Lorik, and Natak Ganesh Markaaur Char Shikhaayen. He has translated The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Three Penny Opera by Bertolt Brecht, Sanskrit plays Bhagvadajjukeeyam and Mrichchhakatikam and many other western and Indian plays to Hindi. He has directed, co-directed, acted and scripted many films, TV serials and tele-films. He is known for his performance as Socrates in the play Bare Foot in Athens directed by Raj Bisaria. Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha has been awarded an honorary diploma in Norway; the best costume designer in America; Senior Fellowship by the Govt. of India; and Kala Bhushan by Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan. He is the president and artistic director of NIPA, and has earlier been associated with IPTA and Meghdoot.

The Playwright
Irwin Shaw was an American playwright, cine writer, story writer and novelist who began writing at the age of 21. In 1935, he wrote an anti-war play Bury the Dead and his first screen play The Big Game. In the latter half of that decade his stories were published in many popular magazines. In 1948, inspired by his experiences in the American army, he wrote The Young Lions which was later made it into a film in 1958. He dedicated the rest of his life to writing novels.

The Group
NIPA Rangamandali was established in 1991 by a group of talented and popular artists of Lucknow. It has given highly acclaimed performances in India as well as in Norway, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, America, Canada and Pakistan. Bhagvadajjukeeyam has done more than 100 shows. Experimenting with different forms, the group has presented Mitti ki Gaadi, Kundmala, Pret, Lohar, Ashadh ka Ek Din, The Lesson, Exit the King, Jai Sidhnayak, Sambashiva, Vasamsi Jeernani, Balkan Women, Crusades and many more plays.

Cast & Credits
Soldier 1                                                Shubam Singh Chauhan
Soldier 2                                                Akshat
Soldier 3                                                Sandeep Kumar
Soldier 4                                                Avinash
Sargent                                                 Sujeet Singh Yadav ‘Bunty’
Priest 1                                                 Ramesh Saini
Priest 2                                                 Abhishek
Captain                                                 Nitish Bhardwaj
High Command 1                                 Vinay Kumar Mishra
High Command 2                                 Anuj Nigam
High Command 3                                 Gaurav Dinghra
Doctor                                                  Akansha Aggarwal
Typist                                                   Bajyanti Nath, Pallavi Singh
Corpse 1                                              Shubam Tiwari
Corpse 2                                              Vikesh Bajpayee
Corpse 3                                              Suraj Pratap Singh
Corpse 4                                              Shivam Singh
Corpse 5                                              Sachin Jaiswal
Corpse 6                                              Saurabh Kumar Mishra
Sister of Corpse1                                 Baijanti Nath
Wife of Corpse 2                                  Shivangi Nigam
Wife of Corpse 3                                  Puja Singh
Wife of Corpse 4                                  Pallavi
Beloved of Corpse 5                            Komal Singh
Mother of Corpse 6                              Mridula Bhardwaj

Scenography Assistants                      Vinay, Shubam, Sachin
Stage Property                                     Ritesh, Sherya, Adarsh, Shivam, Sandeep, Gunjan Jain
Costume Assistants                             Akanksha Aggarwal, Amrita Paul, Komal Singh, Gaurav,
Shivangi Nigam
Live Music                                            Mahinder Pal
Sound & Vocal Music                           Bharatendu Kashyap
Sound & Music Assistants                   Anuj Nigam, Akshat
Vocal Music Operator                          Anant Sharma
Light Assistant                                     Sujeet Singh Yadav
Poster                                                  Shreya Ranjan, Gunjan Jain
Stage Management                             Aarav
Light Design & Operation                    Anoop Joshi ‘Bunty’
Make-up                                              Praveen Namdeo, Shaahir Ahmad
Costume Designer,
Assistant Director
& Presentation Controller                    Mridula Bhardwaj
Art Director                                          Bharatendu Kashyap

Playwright                                            Irwin Shaw
Adaptation & Direction                         Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha

Contacts
Neepa Rangamandali
C-11 Sector-1, Aliganj
Lucknow-226024
M: +91 9335905547
E: nipasurya@gmail.com

Playwright & Director: Kavita Srinivasan
Group: Sushila Arts Academy, Nepal
Language: English
Duration: 1hr 10mins

The Play
Satya Yuga (era of truth) was an era when gods, demons and humans cohabited the earth. Set in this time is the story of goddess Kumari who came to rule the kingdom of Kathmandu. The legend describes a young goddess Kumari, born to the gods Svet-Kali and Svet-Bhairav in the neighbourhood of Nardevi in ancient Kathmandu. To their alarm, she falls in love with an asura (demon), Chanda. Their tumultuous love story ends tragically, as Kumari ultimately sacrifices her love to in order to fulfil her duty. Her parents in return, make her the ruler of Kathmandu.
Kumari and the Beast is an interpretation of the story told by Maheswor Juju Rajopadhyay in his book of short stories Nepali Adhyaatma Jagat ko Itihas (History of Nepal’s Spiritual World). The story is presented through a fusion of Nepal’s classical Charya dance and contemporary dance-movement, with live music and vintage photography.

Director’s Note
Three things attracted me to this story: First, the story provides a fascinating role model of how a female child can hold one of the highest positions of social and political power, and can remain unmarried of her own will. In a world where power has been known for eons to be held by the senior-most male, the relevance of such a figure is immense.
Second, the story’s central theme of ‘forbidden love’ remains as relevant today as it was ages ago. Society’s condemnation of certain kinds of love based on caste, creed, gender, race etc. continues to trample on the fundamental right to choose.
Last, the sacrifice of the beast is symbolic of the price that society extracts from each of us.

The Director & Playwright
Kavita Srinivasan has focused on stories of culturally iconic figures like Gautama Buddha and Goddess Kumari, reinterpreting and telling their stories in a way that fuses the classic and the contemporary, focusing on the human element, through movement, dance, music, theatre and visual art. She also created Nepal’s first online sitcom P.S. Zindagi (Post Seismic Zindagi) which won local and international recognition. Kavita has done two Masters – in Architecture, and in City Planning – from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, USA).

The Group
Sushila Arts Academy (SAA) is a theatre dance music and arts institution in Kathmandu, Nepal founded in 2012 with the aim to promote the Arts in Nepal. Since its establishment, it has been providing hundreds of scholarship seats to talented but financially limited or underprivileged Nepali students. The Academy has delivered numerous musical and theatre-dance productions, art exhibitions, shows and various art programs, all aimed at promotion of the arts in Nepal, as well as giving a platform to young, talented Nepali artists to flourish further.

Cast & Credits
Kumari                                                   Kripa Bajracharya
Chanda                                                  Kiran Shrestha
Svet-Bhairav                                          Sudan Munikar
Svet-Kali                                                Vijaya Karki
Representation of Kumari’s feelings      Arpana Lama, Glory Thapa, Sunita Darnal
Representation of Chanda’s feelings     Srijan Bhattarai, Jerox Chaudhari, Nikesh Raj Chaudhary

Charya Dance Choreographer               Sudan Munikar, Kripa Bajracharya
Musicians                                               Chandra Man Shrestha (Drums, Percussion and effects),
Prabesh Maharjan (Percussion and effects),
Saroj Shahi (Guitar and effects),
Rupesh Shakya (Flute, horn and effects)
Original Music and Sound Effects          Dimitris Giannopoulos
Recorded Music                                     Various Sources
Narration                                                 Kavita Srinivasan
Costume Designer                                  Sammriddhi Mittal, Samita Kapali
Beast Make-up                                        Sunita Darnal, materials from Aesthete Studio
Lights                                                      Dinesh Tuladhar
Sound                                                     Tuphan Thapa
Smoke/Projection                                    Kanchan Pandey
Black and White Photographs                 Kiran Chitrakar (Poster), Dominic Sansoni, GTZ,
A. Proksh, AFP, Ian Trower and others
Publicity Stills                                          Avishesh Raj Maskey, Shilu Jain
Behind the Scenes Photographs             Suman Nagarkoti
Production Stills                                       Bijay Tamrakar
Truss / Thermacol / Set                           Binod Pokharel (Stage Mind)
Producer                                                  Sushila Arts Academy
Assistant Director/ Stage Manager          Vijaya Karki

Special Thanks – Jagannath Dhaugoda (Djimbe), Brikchya Band (Khen, Dhimey, Taa, Ghungro), Shree Guru Nitya Baja Khala (Dhime, Taa, Bapucha, Bhusya), Vajra Kala Kunja (Charya music and costume support), Swarnim Maharjan (Flute Melody concept tips), Pawan R. Joshi (Projections)

Story                                                       Maheshwor Juju Rajopadhyay
Playwright & Director                              Kavita Srinivasan

Contacts
Director, Sushila Arts Academy
KMC-Ward No. 3 Lohasal,
Maharajgunj, Kathmandu- 044600
M: +977 9803791540
E: kavita.srinivasan@gmail.com