JOIN USIt was probably the 1970s and 1980s that boasted of many pro-people movements in Karnataka and most of them had the betterment of human beings as their motto. It was during this time that well-known playwright Professor C G Krishnaswamy (CGK as he was fondly known as) founded the ‘Ranga Niranthara’, a drama troupe with his friends. Ranga Niranthara was committed to amateur theatre. In fact, it paved the way for many experimental dramas that continue even today after the untimely demise of CGK.
In order to provide a platform for such dramas, the troupe began the CGK National Theatre Festival, an annual theatre festival four years ago. Many theatre activists, theatre-related cultural associations and government departments came together to make this a perfect platform for national theatre in Bengaluru.
The idea was to showcase new experimental drama in regional languages and make it a meeting point for various theatre activities. In fact, many of the plays presented here have become extremely popular for their powerful and meaningful dialogues that many find reflect the reality in today’s world. As a result, the festival provides a platform to discuss new ideas. This festival can be seen as the extension of CGK’s ideology of upliftment of human beings. “Ranga Niranthara has evolved to be the voice of the people apart from having an inherent characteristic of mass entertainment. Keeping these elements in mind, the organisation is ensuring that the same objectives are kept in mind by focusing upon challenges plaguing the country,” says Shashidhar Adapa, an art director and one of the organisers.
While the previous editions of the festival had a particular theme, this year there is no set theme. The selected dramas will be showcased between May 15 and 19 at Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bengaluru. These dramas are widely different from each other in terms of plots and themes but all tell tales of the present day developments. Another significant aspect of this festival is an opportunity theatre goers get to interact get with the artistes and directors of the dramas on the same day of enactment. Ekadashanana, Chillara Samaram, Welcome Zindagi and a drama based on the ‘Vali Vadhe’ instance of Kuvempu’s Sri Ramayana Darshanam are some of the plays being showcased at the festival.
In order to commemorate 50 years of Ravindra Kalakshetra, 50 artistes and technicians associated with the cultural auditorium are being felicitated. This gesture is in continuation with the practice of honouring the theatre tradition. The national theatre festival has a variety of programmes to enter the theatre going public.
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