8th Theatre Olympics commences in Mumbai with fanfare

● Mumbai will play host to 28 performances from 24th March to 7th April 2018, presenting a diverse range of theatre forms from all over the world.

● The inaugural play was a Hindi production ‘Mohe Piya’ by Prof. Waman Kendre.

● An international seminar on dwindling popularity of theatre is scheduled in the city.

 

Mumbai, 24th March 2018: Taking forward its long association with theatrical productions, the city today inaugurated the 8th Theatre Olympics, a fortnight-long international theatre festival. Eminent film and theatre actor Shri Vikram Ghokle and eminent filmmaker Shri Ashutosh Gowarikar inaugurated the festival at a function that was presided over by Director, National School of Drama, Prof. Waman Kendre.  

“I am first a theatre personality and student, then a cinema actor and director. I learn a lot from theatre and how this great art helps in utlising a limited space of stage in conveying unlimited messages and emotions. My cinema is actually a theatre which is captured through camera,” says Shri Ashutosh Gowariker.

The inaugural play in Mumbai is a Hindi production ‘Mohe Piya’ by Prof. Waman Kendre. The play is an adaptation of Mahakavi Bhasa’s Sanskrit classic ‘Madhyama Vyayoga’ that is based on an episode of Mahabharata. It presents the story of Ghatotkacha who wants a human to feast his mother Hidimba who is portrayed as an independent woman with a thinking mind and an emotional soul.

The city is one of the co-hosts of the 8th Theatre Olympics, world’s largest theatre festival, being held in India for the first time. The Mumbai chapter of the 8th Theatre Olympics is organized by the National School of Drama (NSD) in collaboration with the Directorate of Cultural Affairs, Maharashtra. 

Theatre lovers in Mumbai will watch a series of 28 performances from 24th March to 7th April 2018, presenting an eclectic mix of national, and international theatre forms. The city will watch another 7 specially invited plays from renowned theatre personalities such as ‘Sonata’ (Sohag Sen), ‘Rashmakirathi’ (Ravishankar Khare), ‘Phera’ (Soumitra Chatterjee), ‘Avudai’ (Abilash Pillai), ‘Rakt- Abhishek’ (D. P. Sinha), ‘Court Martial’ (Sharad Sharma), and ‘Dakghar’ (Kanhailal).

Besides, 6 international productions such as ‘Shri 420’ (Saba Zaidi and Atul Tiwari, Australia), ‘Almost Alive’ (Sabine Molenaar, Belgium), ‘Phantom’ (Theodor Hoidekr, The Czech Republic), ‘The Restaurant Of Many Orders’ (Hiroshi Koike, Japan), ‘Balladyna’ (Katarzyna Deszcz, Poland), and ‘The Brink! Or A Ritual of Bad Sounds’ (Thom Pasculli, USA) will also delight the theatre-goers in the city. 

Other plays to be staged in Mumbai are ‘Mai Hoon Na…(In Time & Pace)’ (Bharti Sharma), ‘Missile Man’ (Raja Anand), ‘Code Mantra’ (Rajesh Joshi), ‘Vidyottama’ (Mohan Maharishi), ‘Tajmahal Ka Tender’ (Chitranjan Tripathi), ‘Khamoshi Sili Sili’ (Suresh Sharma), ‘Ghasiram Kotwal’ (Rajinder Nath), ‘Kamala Kunwarir Sadhu’ (Simanta Phukan), ‘Lost Paradise’ (Aru Swati Vyas), ‘Banjara’ (Sajida), ‘Paritran’ (Rajoo Barot), and ‘Nat-Samrat’ (Jayant Deshmukh).

Apart from the plays, Mumbai will host an international seminar on dwindling popularity of theatre to be attended by renowned playwrights and popular theatre actors. Mumbai will also witness a host of allied activities such as ‘Master Class’, ‘Living Legend’, and ‘Interface’ featuring renowned personalities such as Mr. Nitish Bhardwaj, Mr. Darshan Jariwala, Mr. Mahesh Dattani and likes.

The city will witness the culmination of the festival on 8th April.