MP to host Theatre Olympics in March

BHOPAL: The biggest theatre carnival of the world is coming to Madhya Pradesh. The Theatre Olympics — being held for the first time in India — will set the stage alight in Bhopal in March.Art lovers in the state would get an opportunity to see the performances of some of the greatest theatre artists from across the globe. It will be a lifetime experience for artists of MP and theatre connoisseurs, said officials of the culture department that is hosting the event in collaboration with NSD Society. “The event will put Madhya Pradesh on the global map in the field of art and culture,” said principal secretary, culture, Manoj Shrivastava.Plays will be held at five locations in Bhopal — Bharat Bhavan, Tribal Museum, Ravindra Bhavan, Shaheed Bhavan and Shaurya Smarak. Shrivastava said preparations for the theatre gala are underway. Officials said NSD will facilitate the event and get artistes to the state. The rest of the arrangements will be done at the state level. Venues are being decked up for the mega event and the schedule of plays is being worked out.So far, MP has provided a stage to artists at the national level. Over a dozen of events in different corners of the country have been held so far, but Theatre Olympics is on a different league, as the state will get to see pioneers of the field the world over, an official said.The inauguration will be held in New Delhi and closing ceremony in Mumbai. It is the eighth edition of the carnival. The Theatre Olympics was established in Greece in 1993, as the first international theatre festival. With the tagline ‘Crossing Millennia’, it is an initiative to string timelines, connect cultural past with the present and future, and celebrate the richness and diversity of theatre heritage across the world.Greece was the first country to host the event in 1995. Japan hosted the second edition in 1999, followed by Russia in 2001. In 2006 the Theatre Olympics was held in Istanbul, and four years later, in 2010, in Seoul. China hosted it in Beijing in 2014 and in 2016 the seventh edition was held in Poland. Now, the curtains go up on India.