Showcase of best of Indian theatre

Some of the best productions in Indian theatre from across the country in the past one year is set to be staged here.
The Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META), now into its ninth year is presenting eight nominated plays on the Delhi stage beginning from March 4.
These include "Gabarghichor" the Play in Hindi and Bhojpuri which narrates the story of a 15-year-old boy who finds himself caught in between a undisputed parental rights over him. It has been directed by Praveen Kumar Gunjan.
Another play in English "Open Couple" explores the politics of relationships. It has been directed by Faraz Khan.

The META also provides a platform to celebrate and promote theatre's varied elements including playwriting, set design, costume and light design, movement, direction and performance.
"Playwrights were invited to send in DVDs of their plays and we received close to 300 entries from all over the country. Out of these a jury comprising eminent theatre personalties shortlist the plays across different categories," META creative director Ravi Dubey said.

The jury comprised of personalties like Shyam Benegal, Shabana Azmi, Swati Bhise, Sushama Seth, Khulbushan Kharbhanda and Uttkarsh Majumdar.
Apart from "Gabarghichor" and "Open Couple" the other nominated plays include "C Sharp C Blunt", "Macbeth", "Moment Just Before Death", "Piya Behrupiya", "Purushasukta", and "9 Parts of Desire".

Dubey said the number of entries had increased from a mere 10 plays in the first year to over 300 plays this year.
"Theatre is the most dynamic platform to showcase artistic content and we are helping people from the remotest parts of India to display their talent to a wide audience," Dubey said.
The play "C Sharp C Blunt," in English stars singer actress MD Pallavi as an attractive, interactive and user-friendly mobile phone app that has been projected to be the most popular app of 2013. It has been directed by Sophia Stepf and produced by Flinn theatre and Samudra Trust from Bangalore.

The Malayalam play "Moment Just before Death" directed by Liju Krisha, pivots around the memories of an old man and the endless wait for his coffin.
The internationally acclaimed off Broadway one-woman hit that has received multiple awards around the world "9 Parts of Desire" details the lives of nine Iraqi women spanning the decades between the first and second Gulf wars. It has been directed by Lillete Dubey and stars Ira Dubey.
The META awards include a trophy and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh for the best production, Rs 75,000 for best original playwright and Rs 45,000 for all other categories. The awards are set to be given on the last day March 8 of the festival.