The Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival Is Back!
The most awaited theatre festival of the year is here!
The theme of the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival 2021 is ‘Staying Alive’, and it is set to take place over five days, from 27 October to 31 October, 2021. This is going to be a hybrid festival that harnesses the goodness of the physical and the digital world – take your pick or choose both!
October is the month that marks the 17th birthday of Ranga Shankara.
Four new plays are to premiere at this years Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival and rehearsals are happening in full swing.Ranga Shankara is all set and super excited to bring a vibrant theatre festival, full of stories and art by the people, for you people.
This will be a space where the theatre will celebrate life and human resilience and heal the community while dreaming together again.
Components of the Festival:
These digital presentations, created during the pandemic, reflect on the crisis-ridden times. The showcase will be followed by talks with the creators after each screening.
The plays that will be performed on the main stage are:
‘Kanta Mattu Kanta’
Date: Wed 27 Oct-2021
Time: 7:00 PM
Language - Kannada
Written and directed by - Surendranath S
Group – Sanket, Bangalore
Duration – 90 minutes
Synopsis
Two theatre actors. Now aged. Quite aged. Equally talented but cannot shed their egos. Once upon a time they were a popular pair. For reasons best known to them, they stopped seeing each other, they stopped talking to each other. They last appeared on stage some 16 years ago. Now there is an opportunity (opportunity? to come on stage together. They have to forget their acrimony and come on stage. Is it possible to celebrate friendship after a long separation? Is a new life possible?
‘Lock down’
Date: Thu 28 Oct-2021
Time: 7:00 PM
Language - Kannada
Written and directed by - Abhishek Iyengar
Group – WeMove Theatre, Bangalore
Duration – 50-60 minutes
Synopsis
The Kannada play titled ‘Lockdown’ is a 50–60-minute play set in urban, rural and international ecosystems that come with their own set of challenges. An anthology of 4 stories tells the importance of relationships and how they are moulded during uncertain times. A story of a daughter and a stepmother, a newly married couple, an adopted grandson and a lonesome wife; all of them find a way to connect with each other, across borders, through interests and memories. In the process finding themselves.
‘Jhund’
Date: Fri 29 Oct-2021
Time: 7:00 PM
Language - Hindi
Written and directed by - Chanakya Vyas
Group – - Indian Ensemble
Duration – 70 minutes
Synopsis
Two strangers are locked up in a mysterious room while trying to escape from an unknown occurrence outside, seen as a threat to humans. Their phones are tampered with, their data is lost and as time passes, the only way to know about the outside world is to stay in and join the cryptic social network created for the ones who are still alive. But how long will they choose to play along? Inspired from and based on two source texts: Ashok Mishra’s Hindi Translation of Slawomir Mrozek’s play ‘Striptease’ and Ghanshyam Desai’s Gujarati short story 'The Crowd'.
‘Kaamarupigal’
Date: Sat 30 Oct-2021
Time: 7:00 PM
Language - Kannada
Adapted and directed by - Ganesh Mandarthi
Group – Sanchaya
Duration – 75 minutes
Synopsis
Kaamarupigal is an abstract from Ramayana, spanning the events starting with the defacing of Shurpanakhi till the death of Jatayu. This bit of Ramayana offers an entertaining look at the dramatic events of Panchavati Prasanga. We attempt to present it in a slightly modernized and endearing fashion. With this play, we explore the boundaries of desire and the tumults of lust.
‘Hunkaro’
Date: Sun 31 Oct-2021
Time: 7:00 PM
Language - Marwari, Hindi, Haryanvi, Awadhi
Directed by - Mohit Takalkar
Written by - Vijaydan Detha, Chirag Khandelwal, Arvind Charan
Group – Ujaagar Dramatics Association
Duration – 85 minutes
Synopsis
‘Hunkaro', literally means a verbal affirmation. The piece is replete with songs which come from the centennials old Manganiyar tradition but avoids musical instruments, once again underlining the spoken word. World renowned Manganiyar musician Hakeem Khan Saab is helming the musical front of this performance. An intriguing weave of 3 stories talk about what strength, hope can instil and how life without hope is impossible to sustain. Performed by 6 trained actors, the piece mainly in Marwari and dialects of Hindi, Punjabi runs for 85 mins.
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‘Abhi.Neta, Aayenge’
Wednesday, October 27 – Time: 7:00 PM Thursday, October 28 – Time: 8:00 PM Group – Last Seen Duration – 40 minutes Language – English
About the team
Last Seen is an ensemble of individuals who create and experiment with the digital, drawing on a range of diverse artistic practices to inform their work. Abhi.Neta Aayenge was rewarded a Refunction grant in 2021 by the Goethe Institut and is their first production.
Cast & Crew list –
Paulanthony George Varun Kurtkoti Satchit Puranik Padmini Ray Murray
‘Lifeline 99 99’
Wednesday, October 27 – 5:00 PM
Thursday, October 28 – 6:00 PM
Friday, October 29 – 7:00 PM
Saturday, October 30 – 8:00 PM
Sunday, October 31 – 9:00 PM
Directed and Designed by Akshay Raheja and Gaurav Singh.
Group - Kaivalya Plays
Duration – 40-60 Mins
Language – English
About the team
Lifeline 99 99 is produced by Kaivalya Plays, an Indian performing arts and production company led by Varoon P. Anand as its Artistic Director and Gaurav Singh as General Manager. Known for their original theatre productions, their projects spans improvisational theatre, immersive experiences, arts management, applied theatre and digital theatre. Learn more at kaivalyaplays.org.
Cast & Crew list –
Presented by Kaivalya Plays in partnership with Exotel
Directed and Designed by Akshay Raheja and Gaurav Singh.
Performed by Kumar Abhimanyu, Nikie Bareja, Rochan Mathur, Ramita Menon, Raghav Seth, Gaurav Singh and Vanshika Verma.
Written by Akshay Raheja.
Technical Production by Gaurav Singh.
Production managed by Saumya Upadhyay.
Premiere run managed by Stuti Kanoongo.
‘Ngan hiar sha Wah (I'm going down to the River)’
Date: 27th – 31st October 2021, playing on demand Duration – 60 minutes Language – Khasi, Hindi, English (subtitles in English)
About the creator:
Lapdiang A. Syiem is a theatre artist based in Shillong, Meghalaya. She received her training from the National School of Drama, New Delhi and the Commedia School, Copenhagen. She has been writing, devising and performing scripts inspired by Khasi folklore and oral narratives, reinterpreting and adapting them into a contemporary context. Her most recent ongoing work with her team from Shillong, Ngan hiar sha Wah (I’m going down to the River) is a project under the REFUNCTION 2020- 2021 grant awarded by the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi.
Cast & Crew list –
Concept, Script and Performance: Lapdiang A. Syiem and Esther Syiem Design and Technical Team: Juban Lamar and Abigail Nongsiej Music Composition: JApkyrmenskhem Tangsong and Juban Lamar Special Thanks to : Sam-i-naki War Passah, Keshav Pariat, Baston Singh Lyngdoh, Thunder Wanniang, Kong Alma Syiem, Raphika Lyngdoh, Baaijinghun Dkhar, Iohkynti Dkhar, Balakmen Lyngdoh, Apkyrmenskhem Tangsong
‘This is how you move them’
Date: 27th – 31st October 2021, playing on demand Written and Directed by : Urvi Vora Duration – Approximately 60 minutes Language – Hindi/English
About the team
Urvi Vora is an artist based out of New Delhi. She has created works in the overlaps between dance, film, and theatre, with a focus on the body and intimacy. Visual and Sound Design by Sijya Gupta Website Design by Hiren Kangad, Shaunaq Madan Performed by Ankit Pandey and Lauren Robinson Filmed by Annette Jacob Mixed and Mastered by Jay Panelia Written and Directed by Urvi Vora
Cast & Crew list –
Visual and Sound Design by: Sijya Gupta Website Design by: Hiren Kangad, Shaunaq Madan Performed by: Ankit Pandey and Lauren Robinson Filmed by: Annette Jacob Mixed and Mastered by: Jay Panelia Written and Directed by: Urvi Vora
‘Nihaayati Niji Baatein’
Date: 27th – 31st October 2021, playing on demand Written and Directed by – Jyoti Dogra Duration – 24 minutes Language – Hindi
About the creator:
Jyoti Dogra, is a theatre artist based in Mumbai. She directs and performs in the theatre. Her work attempts to find a performance language through metaphors created with the body, voice and text. The material and aesthetics of her work is inspired by the urban Indian ethos, rooted in personal and collective histories, attempting to explore the very personal and finding the universal within it. Her works have been supported by India Foundation for the Arts, Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council, Goethe Institut, Saison Foundation, and Arts Council England. Her work has also been shown in Tokyo, NewYork, London, Zurich, Berlin, Warsaw, Denmark. Washington DC, Singapore and HongKong.
Cast & Crew list –
Conceived, directed and performed by: Jyoti Dogra Poster Design by: Anuj Chopra and Nishant Tripathi Motion poster by: Anuj Chopra Commissioned by: Serendipity Arts Festival 2020
