Today’s Allied Activities_8th Theatre Olympics by National School of Drama
Mr. Feisal Alkazi (Kartik?!3), Mr. Napolian Almeida (Sukhanshi Bhandato Amhi) and Mr. Santanu Das (Macbeth Mirror) attended the session today. Eminent theatre critics Mr. Diwan Singh Bajeli and Ms. Renu Arora too attended the session.
- Talking about his play ‘Kartik?!3’, director Mr. Feisal Alkazi says, “I do not like to change the original script and like to stick to the playwright because it is something he wants to convey through the play and I do not feel like changing the ending as most directors do. The challenge of this play was that it is written in a very non realistic manner and I had to make it believable.”
- Talking about his production ‘Sukhanshi Bhandato Amhi’, director Mr. Napolian Almeida says, “This play depicts a real life scenario which a schizophrenic patient faces. He is taken to various institutions for cure and everyone tells him something different about himself.” Praising the play, Ms. Renu Arora says, “The play nicely represents the contradiction between an idealistic life and a materialistic life. I liked the fact that the play ended on an idealistic note and gave a ray of hope to us as audience.”
- Commenting on the play ‘Macbeth Mirror’, Mr. Diwan Singh Bajeli says, “I want to congratulate you for the high level of energy in the play. The play had only three characters and still kept us hooked because of their strong performances.” Talking about his production, director Mr. Santanu Das says, “My focus was very clear that I only wanted to incorporate those scenes from Macbeth which revolve around a negative energy. I wanted to portray only the negative shades of Macbeth in my play. I had to edit the original script a lot so as to reduce the duration of the play.”
Today’s Other Activities
The 8th Theatre Olympics today witnessed folk performances from Chhattisgarh where artists from the region represented their rituals and reverence to Gods of the changing seasons. Traditional costumes and accessories along with the rapid movements combined with perfect synchronisation left the audience mesmerised. Folk songs and dances from Naga culture were also presented on the stage today. Romantic and historical, the songs narrated entire stories of famous ancestors and incidents of Naga tribe. Seasonal songs described the activities done in a particular agricultural cycle in the Naga Hills.
