The 10th edition of the International Theatre Festival of Kerala opened at the Bharat Murali auditorium of the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi here on Saturday.
In all 33 plays, including 16 dramas by international theatre groups, will be staged in the coming 10 days.
Minister for Agriculture V.S. Sunil Kumar inaugurated the festival. Akademi chairperson KPAC Lalitha, theatre-film actor Seem Biswas, and others were present.
Palestine, Year Zero , a Palestine play that deals with the demolition of Palestine homes by the Israel army, was the opening show. Directed by Israeli woman director Einat Weizman the play is rooted in the reality of Israeli-Palestine conflict.
Stories Forgotten to Tell , a play by transsexuals narrating their experiences and issues, also was staged on the opening day.
There will be an interesting mix of plays in terms of theme, format, and expression at the festival.
Some of the plays at the ITFoK are based on real incidents such as Manus from Iran and Borderline from the UK.
Manus is about experiences of refugees from Iran, who were shunted off by Australia to the infamous Manus detention camp.
Borderline is performed by refugees who have fled their own countries. Another play Kranti is enacted by children of sex workers in Mumbai’s red light district. The plays vary in format too.
The play Malay Man and his Chinese Father is a non-verbal play. There are puppetries. Queen Size is a performance in response to Article 377.
“Worldwide, theatre is exploring different ways of making. That makes theatre vibrant, live and creative. Theatre has to constantly evolve. And the festival is trying to bring a cross-section of world theatre,” said festival director Rajiv Krishnan.
“How a festival handles criticism and feedback will determine how it grows. There are keen audience, who want this festival to continue. How to catch the young audience and how to engage is a real challenge,” he said.
Allied events
The festival also features several allied events such as panel discussions, artiste interactions, workshops, concerts, and traditional performances. The festival will conclude on January 29.
