Theatre has an important role to play in spreading a positive message in the current times when communalism and regressiveness are spreading their tentacles, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran has said.
He was speaking after inaugurating the National Theatre Festival organised by the Information and Public Relations Department here on Thursday evening.
“The theatre movement had a key role to play in the socio-cultural development that our State has achieved in the past 60 years. Even though it was weakened with the advent of television, theatre still is a platform for important interventions,” he said.
The Minister released the festival booklet by handing over a copy to Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi chairperson KPAC Lalitha. “The new-age theatre practitioners should think of making their works more accessible to the common people. At times, the message seems to be lost on the audience as they fail to comprehend what goes on stage,” said Ms. Lalitha.
V.S. Sivakumar, MLA, presided over the function. The festival opened with Deepan Sivaraman’s much acclaimed theatrical adaptation of O.V. Vijayan classic Khasakkinte Ithihasam at the Government Central School grounds in Attakulangara.
It was well-received by a rapturous crowd, filled to the brim of the makeshift venue. It will be staged for three consecutive days at the same venue.
Tribute to Kavalam
Popular theatre groups from across the country will perform in the festival that will feature 17 plays, with the Tagore Theatre being the main venue. The festival has been dedicated to the memory of the late playwright Kavalam Narayana Panicker, who passed away some months ago. Abhilash Pillai of the National School of Drama is the curator of the theatre festival.
Issues haunting society, including atrocities against Dalits and issues faced by women and the marginalised, will be the highlights of the festival. In view of the 60th anniversary of the formation of the State, special focus has been given to plays from Kerala, with six plays from the State being showcased.
A major highlight of the festival will be the Manipuri play Pebet , brought by the celebrated Manipuri theatre group Kalakshetra, founded by the late theatreperson Heisnam Kanhailal. The play is being brought as a tribute to the great master who passed away last year. The 1975 play, regarded as one of the most acclaimed political plays of Manipuri theatre, has travelled far and wide.
Two plays each will be staged at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Tagore theatre.
