150 troupes to perform at Odisha theatre fest

If the puja season has arrived here in the cultural city of Cuttack, can the theatre festival be far behind? The mega fortnight-long theatre event “India Theatre Olympiad” will begin here from Friday.

The Olympiad would begin with all India multi-lingual drama and would be followed by classical and folk dances, vocal and instrumental music competitions.

“The International Theatre Festival, which is an integral part of this Olympiad would be held from October 1 to 5”, the general secretary of the Olympiad Prof Kartik Chandra Rath said.

Rath said the Theatre Olympiad in Cuttack, the only of its kind across the world, is being organized here in the Millennium city for last 20 years without break.

“The theatre festival is being organised to promote creative theatrical expression and artistic acumen of theatre-loving people”, Prof Rath said adding the festival also envisages promoting international amity and universal brotherhood through cross-cultural synthesis and social assimilation.

He said the extravaganza would see performances of nearly 150 different cultural groups having over 3,500 performing artists.

The festival would also see the presence of a galaxy of playwrights, directors and critics from the country and abroad, who would be sharing their experiences and artistic dexterity here with all.

Groups from countries like Argentina, Bangladesh, Egypt, Hungary, Iran, Nepal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan are likely to participate in the Festival, Rath informed saying that the city would also witness footfalls of several foreign spectators.