On World Theatre Day, we congratulate the two Kolkata groups who won 9 out of the 13 awards at META last week, an unprecedented haul. Bengal Repertory’s Nihsanga Ishwar bagged Best Production, Best Script (Suman Saha and Soham Gupta), Best Design (Suman), Best Female Supporting Actor (Chandrani Sarkar) and Best Male Actor (Suman). Rangakarmee’s Chanda Bedni received Best Ensemble, Best Lighting (Badal Das), Best Female Actor (Ranjini Ghosh) and Best Choreography (Subhojiet Guha and Madhumita Chakraborty). The plays interrogate preconceived notions and protest against oppression. While Nihsanga Ishwar set on the last day of Krishna’s life is original, Chanda Bedni was written by the late Alakhnandan Sinha in Bundeli dialect around 1990.
I have not read anything in Kolkata’s newspapers so far noting this historic achievement. Doesn’t matter, Kolkata theatre, carry on the excellent work!
27 March 2025