National Theatre Festival

The National Theatre Festival organised by the Kendra Sangeetha Nataka Akademi in association with the Department of Information and Public Relations ,Govt. of Kerala in Trivandrum was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Mr V.S Achuthanandan . While inaugurating the festival he said that globalization has its influence in the art as general and in theatre like performing arts in particular. This trend leads to an erosion in the cultural heritage of our country , Mr. Achuthanandan said. Due to this shift viewers are slowly becoming the consumers rather than the connoisseurs of art . Amol Palekar , noted theatre personality from Marathi and film director, was the chief guest at the function .He highlighted the buoyancy of drama. “Theatre is a force that binds the length and breadth of this country,” he said. Palekar also applauded the theatre loving audiences of Kerala and observed that theatre has survived the onslaught of mass media. “Today the success of any venture is governed by the hype that precedes it. This has made us wonder whether drama will survive this onslaught. But I am convinced that theatre will retain all its glory,” Palekar said. The festival will stage eight dramas in six different languages. The festival opened with a play in Kannada, from Natana, Mysore , ‘Gandhi Ambedkar’ directed by C. Basavalingaiah. ‘Ghumayee’ (Dogri) from Natrang Jammu, Zindagi Retire Nahin Hoti (Hindi), CEVA Drama Repertory Company were staged in the second and third day of the festival . Khuli Hewa Ki Talaash Mein-Hindustani/Punjabi ,Quick Death-Hindi/Malayalam ,Super Market (Malayalam) from Sangeetha Nataka Academi, Thrissur ,Tritiya Juddeha-Bengali ,Evam Indrajeet-Hindi ,are other plays to be staged in the ensuing days.