Jaipur is all set to be one of the co-hosts of the 8th Theatre Olympics, the largest international theatre festival to be held for the first time in India. The Jaipur chapter of Theatre Olympics 2018 is organised by the National School of Drama (NSD) under the aegis of Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India in collaboration with Ravindra Manch Society and Art & Culture Department, Government of Rajasthan.
“The 8th Theatre Olympics is a great opportunity to highlight the cultural heritage of Rajasthan. Many folk forms from the state have already been showcased during the festival. We hope that this international festival will give a boost to the folk and theatre performers,” said NSD registrar Pradeep Kumar Mohanty at the press conference held in Jaipur on Wednesday.
“It is a great privilege for us to be a part of the 8th Theatre Festival and I am sure it will be a great success. Theatre lovers in Jaipur will have so much to look forward to”, said Mamta Mathur, PRO, Ravindra Manch, Jaipur. Also present at the conference was chief coordinator of the event Laique Hussain
Jaipur will witness as many as 15 plays between March 18 and April 1 consisting of international, national, and folk theatre forms. The event will present folk production Satya Harishchandra (directed by Choudhary Chajjan Singh), specially invited plays such as Bali (directed by K S Rajendran), Gokulmirgamana (directed by B V Karanth), and Mirza Sahibaan (directed by G S Channi) among others.
“Art has been the earliest form of communication and nothing gives an artist more delight than performing in front of an audience that appreciates art, no matter from which part of the world they come. In a way, theatre is a great equalizer and unites people of multiple cultures and traditions under one umbrella. We are extremely proud to bring the world’s largest theatre festival to India. During this 51-day long nationwide celebration of the 8th Theatre Olympics, we attempt to bridge the borders across countries through the call of theatre and engage in creating a global village,” said in a statement Arjun Deo Charan, acting chairman of NSD Society.
“For the past 3 years, we had the dream to bring Theatre Olympics to India. The dream that we had seen has come true. Since we began to envision and achieve this feat, Mahesh Sharma, Union Minister of State for Culture has extended wholehearted support to the idea and has played an instrumental role in making it a reality. Throughout centuries we have seen playwright like Shakespeare and Bertolt Brecht becoming a part of Indian theatre, while despite having our own extraordinary playwrights and theatrical figures, we are still to make a similar impact. This is a huge leap towards that direction of putting Indian theatre on the world map. We should be proud of our theatre legacy that is more than 2500 years old,” said Prof Waman Kendre, director, NSD, in a statement. The festival will culminate on 8th April 2018 at Mumbai.
