Waman Kendre, Director of the National School of Drama (NSD), has written to the International Committee of Theatre Olympics (ICTO) to sort out any misconceptions that it might have had about the conduct of Theatre Olympics in India.
In a letter to Mr. Kendre, the committee had denied permission to use the title.
“I have responded to their letter and have addressed all their concerns in detail. We are waiting for their response and hope that it will be favourable,” Mr. Kendre said on Monday.
Theodoros Terzopoulos, chairman of the ICTO, said in the letter that the comittee would not participate in the event and denied permission to use the title “Theatre Olympics”. The committee’s decision was “final, irrevocable and unnegotiable”, he said.
The event is being organised by the Ministry of Culture and the National School of Drama, and the international committee had selected Ratan Thiyam, the then Chairman of the NSD, as the Artistic Director of the festival. However, Mr. Thiyam's tenure ended recently at the NSD and the invitations sent to the members of the ICTO and to other theatre companies were not signed by him but by Mr. Kendre.
The ICTO in its letter said that according to the principles of Theatre Olympics, the invitations had to be signed by the person who had been appointed Artistic Director and not by Mr. Kendre.
Reacting to the controversy, Mr. Thiyam said that he did not wish to comment on the issue as the letter written by the ICTO was self-explanatory. The ICTO has 14 internationally renowned theatre directors, including Mr. Thiyam, who is the only Indian.
Established in 1993, the eight edition of the Theatre Olympics is scheduled to be held in India from February 17 to April 8, 2018, in 17 cities featuring over 500 plays and 700 performances by 50 international and 150 Indian theatre groups.
