18th Old World Theatre Festival to showcase diversity of Indian theatre

    New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) The much-loved 'Old World Theatre Festival' is all set to return to the capital city for its 18th edition on August 16.
    The festival will bring to the stage a panoply of 13 original scripts from across the country showcasing the "diversity and vibrancy" in Indian theatre.
     Touted as one of the "oldest and most prestigious theatre festivals", the 10-day event promises to "entertain, stimulate, provoke and educate" the audience.
     It will be held at the India Habitat Centre here.
    Announcing the festival Vidyun Singh, director programmes, Habitat World, India Habitat Centre, said the festival will engage with "contemporary dilemmas and various issues concerning the country at large".
    "The past few years have seen a steady and growing change in the Indian theatre milieu as a new generation of theatre practitioners came into its own. They are brilliant, relentless and are undeterred by the practical concerns of revenue models, escalating costs of performance spaces and paucity of funds," Singh said.
    The event will open with award-winning puppeteer Anurupa Roy's "1,2, Tree…" that will tell the story of a 7-year old boy, his cat Bruce Lee and a plant which they have befriended.
    A contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" is another highlight of the festival.
     Directed by Jatinder Verma, the Black Theatre live broadcast of the iconic tragedy will show three "outrageous eunuchs cook up an explosive brew of treachery, ambition, and passion".
    "Jam" by Shivani Tanksale, "Gumm Hai" by Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry, "Faqeer Nimaana" by Sanjukta Bagh, and "Under Pressure" by Aruna Ganesh Ram are some of the other productions that are lined up.
     Apart from plays, the festival will also feature workshops and master classes by visiting theatre practitioners.
     Actor Aditya Garg will conduct a session on character development, Varoon Anand will host a workshop on the art of improvisation and the 'Big Fat Compensators' will conduct a one-day workshop for physically big actors.
     The festival will conclude with renowned film and theatre actor Makrand Deshpande's "Pitaji Please" on August 25. PTI    
    
    
     MG TRS
TRS

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from a PTI feed.)