BENGALURU: The Eighth Theatre Olympics is going to be hosted in the country for the first time and Bengaluru, is one of the main host cities. C Basavalingiah, director of the National School of Drama, Bengaluru says he is eager to see the different variations in theatre at the week-long event.
The National School of Drama is the main organising body for the event in the country. In Bengaluru it will be hosted by its school here and the Department of Kannada and Culture at two venues - Kalagrama and Ravindra Kalakshetra. While the event was inaugurated on Saturday, it will start in the city on February 20 and will go on till March 6. The overall event around the country is for 51 days.
A total of 25 plays will be staged out of which four will be by foreign troupes from Poland, Greece and Lithuania. Basavalingiah, director, National School of Drama, says, that he is eager to see how theatre has evolved in different parts of the world through plays staged by these foreign troupes, “There are a number of plays that use all kinds of technology these days. These may be in the form of multimedia technology. Such use is widespread these days as tech has developed a great deal. On the other hand there are still plays that are rooted in the basics that appeal to the public and have common appeal,” says Basavalingiah.
He further says that he is eager to see how each troupe and play portrays its own native culture. “These are two different trends in theatre - one modern and another old school that I, as a student of theatre am very eager to explore and see,” he adds.
Along with the main plays, there will also be a number of allied activities to look forward to. These include folk theatre, street plays and workshops.
The last time the Theatre Olympics was held was in China. This time there are a total of 55 foreign groups. The theme of this time’s Theatre Olympics is ‘Flags of Friendship’ aimed at celebrating different cultures of the world. The fest will be hosted in 17 cities across India for 51 days. While the main venues are metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru, a number of other smaller cities will also play an integral part in hosting the event.
For details visit: http://www.8ththeatreolympics
.nsd.gov.in/en/