This year, Little Thespian devoted its 14th National Theatre Festival, Jashn-e-Azhar, to the oeuvre of senior Hindi author Partap Sehgal, hosting nine productions from northern India over six days. Due
After Othello and Hamlet, Bengali theatre now presents Shakespeare’s two other great tragedies, perhaps the first time that all four have appeared in Kolkata in quick succession. Sarabhuj’s Macbeth
Minerva Natya Sanskriti Charcha Kendra’s national theatre festival could transform the scenario of such festivals in Kolkata, if only the organizers put some intelligence into their efforts. As I’ve mentioned
Two Hindi productions from Mumbai visited over the last month. In Trāsadi, aRANYA’s first play after several years (see Chuhal), at Kolkata Centre for Creativity’s Ami Arts Festival, Manav Kaul
Premiered by Pancham Vaidic under Arpita Ghosh’s direction in the tiny Tripti Mitra Natyagriha in 2022, Debasish’s surreal Gharer Madhye Bāri now appears in a revival by his own group,
International presence this winter numbered three, but I missed the Toronto Bengali Drama Group’s play. Epic Actors’ Workshop (New Jersey) and an acting duo of graduates from the Royal Academy
2023 marked the birth sesquicentennial of one trailblazing artist, Gauhar Jaan, and the centenary of another, Mrinal Sen, who formed the subjects of two separate theatrical tributes in Bengali. The
A couple of heavyweights in Bengali theatre experimented this year with hour-length one-acts instead of their standard full-fledged repertoire. Both Nandikar and Chetana coincidentally attempted three-handers on relationships featuring two
Kolkata Centre for Creativity’s AMI Arts Festival reached a theatrical high with two mainstage productions from Mumbai, both on illustrious personalities of 20th-century music: The Company Theatre’s Taking Sides, about
Kolkata Centre for Creativity looks poised to take over the mantle of our city’s national theatre festival by expanding its AMI Arts Festival from its home location to utilize regular
There are two ways of assessing 7:40 ki Ladies Special by Aawara Theatre Group (Mumbai, presented in Kolkata by Sanskriti Sagar), in terms of social inclusivity, and in terms of
Ujjwal Chattopadhyay’s twin pack on progenitors of early 19th-century Bengali music and theatre definitely illuminates a past largely unknown to the general public. On the downside, however, he persists in
