Theatre Festival in city from Nov 25

Thirty-one full length plays and 88 short dramas will be staged in five city auditoria at the 10-day Theatre Festival to begin here on November 25, West Bengal minister and leading theatre personality Bratya Basu said Saturday.

The five auditoria where the theatre festival will be held are the Rabindra Sadan, Girish Manch, Madhusudan Manch, Sisir Manch and Minerva theatre.

To acquaint the people with the trends and changes in Bengal's theatre movement since 2000, an exhibition will also be held at the Nandan complex in the city during the theatre festival, he said.

Besides discussions related to theatres and street plays will be held at different places.

After the city leg the 18th Theatre festival will travel to 10 districts and 46 full length playes will be staged in a period of two months, Basu said.

The districts will get to see eight short dramas which will be an addition in this theatre festival, which is being organised by the Information and Cultural affairs department, Government of West Bengal.

In the city leg of the festival, eight mime theatre and four puppet groups will perform and 10 street corner plays will be staged, he said.

Basu said the government wants to make this festival a bouquet representing different views and opinions, forms of theatre, groups from the city and the districts to give it an inclusive character.

"While the Centre is curtailing grants for performing and other forms of arts, including theatre, our government is spending Rs 1.5 crore for the theatre festival this year despite many constraints," he said.

To take Bengal's theatre outside the state's boundaries, a 'Bahirbango Natya Utsav' will be staged in Allahabad, Lucknow and Mumbai by January next year and will meet the demand for contemporary stage productions by the Bengali community in different states, Basu said.

Ten full length plays will be staged during the proposed Utsav, he added.