Friends and fun are synonymous with weekends. One such fun event to be held this weekend brings some new and old friends of theatre and performing arts to add more vibrancy to the stage. The two-day Hyderabad Theatre Weekend at Nritya Forum for Performing Arts is a laudable attempt to strengthen the community and bring members on a common platform.
“Our idea is to provide a theatrical experience and help theatre lovers loyal to watching plays from one production house watch other plays too,” shares Venkat Raguru of Nritya Forum. He admits there were initial apprehensions about approaching theatre groups. “We thought no one would agree to collaborate with others but they were very receptive of the idea,” he says.
The two-day weekend is divided into different sessions with a masterclass by Subhash Gupta. If you have been showing off your acting skills to friends, the improv theatre is just right for you to display your acting prowess. Banerjee Babu by Kissago and Draupadi by Kahaniwala bring in varied stories on stage.
Draupadi unravels the unknown facets of Draupadi, wife of the mighty five Pandavas from the epic Mahabharata. “The production uses Kuchipudi and attempts to dive into unknown aspects in Draupadi’s life. This portrayal is an experiment to understand her life, feelings, anguish, desires, dreams, and fears; It is an effort to see her only as her own true identity, which is being of a woman,” points out Venkat. Written and directed by Suhas Bhatnagar, Sravya Manasa has handled the choreography and dance.
The following day is an action-packed day with a panel discussion on theatre culture, a navarasa workshop and Harikatha performance. Sutradhar’s Ismat —Ek Aurat is a collage of Ismat Chugtai’s short stories and Skepticism by The Unknown Pen for audiences above 15 years is a one-act play and depicts an artist’s disturbed mind. “The confused and psychologically disturbed artist is surrounded by his emotions. The emotions have philosophical debates and insanity instigates the artist towards suicide. The play touches the elements of absurdism, surrealism and skepticism,” he adds.
While the sessions and workshops are free, the plays are ticketed events.
(Hyderabad Theatre Weekend at Nritya Forum for Performing Arts on February 23 and 24)
