Celebrating a decade of passion for the stage

In a world fast shrinking into the mobile phone screen, truly real experiences are few and far in between. Keeping the vibrant culture of theatre alive is the extremely popular Vinod Doshi Theatre Festival. Hosted in Pune, the festival is now in its 10th year and this one promises to be the most stellar one yet. "To add zing to the festivities, we are reviving two classical plays, one each in Marathi and Kannada, to bring them alive for a completely new audience.Yayati, Girish Karnad’s classic from the 60s, will be staged for the first time ever in Pune, and it is our special gift to our patrons. My favourite part of the festival is the post-play informal interaction between the makers and the audience. We wish to keep alive the spirit of open communication and access to the art," said Ashok Kulkarni, festival director.

The Highlights
Day 1:The theatre festival will open with Mahanirvan, a modern Indian theatre classic written and directed by Satish Alekar.
Day 2: Performance of Words Have Been Uttered, a play which explores the expressions of dissent, written by Sapan Saran and Irawati Karnik and directed by Sunil Shanbag.
Day 3: Purva Naresh’s Hindi musical Bandish 20-20000 Hz.
Day 4: Mahabharata, a play will be showcased using puppets and performers by Delhi based and internationally acclaimed artist Anurupa Roy.
Closing performance: Yayati which is penned by Girish Karnad and directed by Arundhati Raja.
The Vinod Doshi Theatre Festival will be held from February 19 to 23 at Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagruha. Timing: 7.30 pm