From April, the Sangeeta Nataka Akademi plans to usher in a change of scene for theatre in Kerala by introducing the concept of ‘week-day drama’.
“Every week, we will invite directors to stage a play in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur. A play that has been staged in a district will travel to the other four districts. So theatre buffs will get to watch 48 plays in a year. It will be ticketed at a nominal rate of Rs. 10 for each person and the entire proceeds will go to the theatrepersons staging the play,” says Soorya Krishnamoorthy, Chairman of the Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.
In addition, the troupe will get Rs. One lakh as a subsidy. Only those plays that have qualified in the competitions conducted by the Akademi in different categories such as professional drama, short drama, amateur and ‘Pravasi’ amateur dramas will be selected for the performances. “As of now, only plays in Malayalam will be considered. But there is no reason why we should not include other languages too after gauging the response of viewers and theatre artistes,” says Krishnamoorthy.
Although the initial plan was to hold it on weekends, that was dropped as it was feared that audiences might be thin on account of the mega shows and films on television. “So ‘weekend drama’ had to be changed to ‘week-day drama’. But discussions are still on. The plays will begin in April. In Thiruvananthapuram, the plays are likely to staged at the Museum Auditorium,” adds Krishnamoorthy.
