Many genres at play

The National Law College of India University (NLSIU) recently held a three-day international play festival Admit One, where they had 15 teams participating from all over the country along with a team from Pakistan.

Theatre personality Munira Sen was the chief guest at the inauguration. The other judges included Sunil from EVAM, Ramachandra, Prem Koshy and Abhishek Majumdar, all popular theatre personalities themselves.

The opening play performed by WeMove Productions called Confessions of an Assassin was based on the life of one of the most famous assassins in world history and the death of the person who made him famous.

The script was based on the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse, the only difference being the two characters here were women. The play was a non-scripted performance, each of the actors devising their own roles based on facts and interpretations on a chapter of India's history. This play was not included in the competition.

The next play was Tainted Blood  by Creative Commons, a team from NLSIU. It was about a dysfunctional family in a desperate quest for love. The tragic tale of Melissa McHiney McNormous McWhale by Walter Whykes, also performed by NLSIU was a limerick style laugh riot about a woman who has difficulty fitting into chairs and standard door frames.

The second day brought more action on stage, with the edgy Infidels by Hindu College, Delhi. This was followed by a fun theatre workshop by Ruchika Chalana of JAGRITI, Arundhati Raja School of Drama. CARV from RV College of

Engineering staged Being Sarthak Majumdar  and Take14 from MSRIT staged Imitating Nikhil Sharma a comedy about two room-mates who try and prevent their third friend from coming to stay with them. All is well that ends well by IIT Bhubaneshwar was an interesting multi-genre play.

The third day witnessed a very striking performance by Team Kanak from Jindal Law School, in Bang! Bang! You're Dead. The drama dealt with the incidents of shooting in high schools, exploring the psyche of the kids who commit these acts. Monologues by Mihir Shukla and Srinivas of Christ University added variety to the fest.

The closing act was performed by Yours Truly Theatre group. It was an interactive theatre experience, where feelings and thoughts expressed by the audience were translated into snippets and a short play by the actors spontaneously.

CARV team of RV College of Engineering grabbed the first prize, followed by Kanak from Jindal Global Law School and Hindu College from Delhi University.

Meghna Srinivas of Creative Commons was  adjudged Best Actress and Nirmal Joshi from RVCE was adjudged best actor. The award for best script went to Being Sarthak Majumdar of RVCE.