North 24 Parganas: The thirteenth edition of five-day National Theatre Festival ‘Rang Yatra’ is all set to begin at Gobardanga Sanskriti Kendra in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, from December 21.
Organised by Gobardanga Naksha, one of the premier theatre groups in West Bengal, the festival promises a rich and engaging celebration of stagecraft.
The festival will open on December 21 with Gobardanga Naksha presenting a bilingual Bengali and Hindi play titled ‘Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein’ at 6.30pm. Written by Bisham Sahni, translated by Dipanwita Banik Das and Bhumisuta Das and directed by Ashis Das, the play will set the tone for the days ahead.
On December 22, there will be two plays. At 6.30pm, a non-verbal play titled ‘It Is You’ will be staged jointly by ‘Our Theatre Collective’ from Bengaluru and Kalakshetra from Manipur. The play will be performed by Vivek Vijayakumaran and Pangambam Tyson Meitei. Later in the evening, the same groups will present a Bengali play ‘Beauty Phool Masi’, written by Dipanwita Banik Das and directed and performed by Bhumisuta Das.
On December 23, ECTA, a theatre group from New Jersey, USA will stage two Bengali plays. The first play ‘Paul & Vincent’ will begin at 6.30 pm and run for approximately an hour. This will be followed by ‘Banijye Bosote Lakhi’. Both productions are written and directed by Sudipta Bhowmik.
The penultimate day, December 24, the theatre lovers will once again be treated to two plays. At 6.30pm, Gobardanga Naksha will stage a bilingual Bengali and Shantali play ‘Mon Gelo Gota Bazare’, based on a story written by Shubradip Chowdhury. The play is adapted by Dipanwita Banik Das and designed and directed by Bhumisuta Das. The second play of the evening will be a Bengali play ‘Golpo Buro’, by Gobardanga Naksha’s workshop students, written and directed by Titly Chakraborty.
On the concluding evening, an Odia play ‘Laal Paen’ will be staged by the artistes of Mirror Theatre from Jharsuguda district in Odisha. Written and directed by Subash Chandra Pradhan, the production will mark a fitting finale to the five-day event.
Adding depth to the festival, seminars will be held daily at 4 pm from December 22 to 25, while an exhibition will remain open from 4 pm to 8 pm throughout the festival period. A ‘Director’s Meet’ will follow each performance, offering audiences a rare opportunity to engage directly with the creative minds behind the productions.
Besides theatre activities, every evening will also feature dance, music and puppet shows.
All in all, this year’s theatre festival of Gobardanga Naksha promises to live up to the expectations and add yet another memorable chapter to its illustrious journey.
