Chekhav Ki Duniya kickstarts Delhi Natya Utsav

NEW DELHI: Writer-director Ranjit Kapoor’s Chekhav Ki Duniya kickstarts Delhi Natya Utsav today at Sri Ram Centre. The play that’s been staged earlier is a set of six different stories from Russian writer Anton Chekhov who deftly weaves together different experiences of human emotion, sublime relationships, struggle in poverty and the excesses of a world riddled with inequality.
The five-day festival that culminates on Jan 24 also brings other interesting plays to centre-stage. These include Aurangzeb, Barefoot in Athens, Abducting Diana, Love in a Time of Oppression and Sukrat Nange Paon. The latter is a Hindi version of James Maxwell Anderson’s play Barefoot in Athens which is based on the final days of Socrates, his trial, values and his sacrifice.
Abducting Diana is a dark comedy of a kidnapped millionaire media boss which turns out to be a more complex and eventful than the kidnappers would have imagined.
Written by Dario Fo and directed by Avijit Dutt, the play will be staged on the second day of the festival.
Also, Robert Ridley’s Love in a Time of Oppression is a long-drawn story of a woman and her courage and resilience in the backdrop of a series of major historical events beginning from the holocaust to the fall of communism. Directed by veteran Faisal Alkazi, the play promises a gripping saga.
The festival that’s presented by Delhi Government and Sakitya Kala Parishad also features other theatre personalities such as K S Rajendran, Ranjit Kapoor and Raj Besaria.
“We have brought together some plays which have been appreciated and loved by a wide audience over the years. Some of the most respected names in Indian theatre are participating in the five-day festival which will present a rich mix of historical and contemporary stories. We are sure Delhi’s discerning audience will love every presentation,” says J P Singh assistant secretary (drama), Sahitya Kala Parishad.