Capital to co-host Theatre Olympics

Thiruvananthapuram: The capital city will co-host 8th theatre Olympics, biggest theatre festival in the world, which is being held in the country for the first time. The Thiruvananthapuram chapter of Theatre Olympics will be held at Tagore theatre from February 22 to March 1.
The 51-day-long nationwide theatre festival was inaugurated by vice-president Venkaiah Naidu on February 17.The fest is organized by National School of Drama with the theme ‘Flag of Friendship’.
Eight major plays, including folk productions ‘Purulia Chhau’ and ‘Nacha’ and international plays such as ‘Sukara Asapuwa’ (Sri Lanka) and ‘Let it be Art’ (USA) will be staged.
All the plays will be staged at 6.30pm at Tagore hall from February 22- March 1.
Assistant professor of NSD Amitesh Grover said that Theatre Olympics was not just about plays, there will be master classes by eminent actors, directors etc. “Amateur theatre artists can also conduct performances in open spaces at the main venue at around 5.30pm ahead of staging if the plays,” he said.
In the master class, theatre director Kumara Varma will take class at 11am on February 24 at Lenin Balavadi. Actor Madhu, who is also one of the students in the first batch of NSD, will conduct master class on February 28. Poet Satchidanandan will take class on February 2 while Koodiyattom artiste Sivan Namboothiri will lead master class on March 2.
“This is a huge leap towards putting Indian theatre on the world map. We should be proud of our theatre legacy which is more than 2,500 years old,” said NSD director Waman Kendre.
The Theatre Olympics was initiated in 1993 at Delphi, Greece. It has been held in Japan, Russia, Turkey, South Korea, China and Poland. This year it will culminate with a grand ceremony on April 8 at the Gateway of India, Mumbai.