India's prominent youth theatre festival Thespo now in its 16th year....Plays, Platform performances and more...
November 24, 2014 10:32:37 AM IST MTG editorial
15th to 21st December 2014, now in two venues, Prithvi Theatre & Sitara Studio
6 Plays, 6 Platform Performances, 7 Fringe Performances including film screening and play readings, 15 workshops and 4 live music acts
Two international performances
The 16th edition of Thespo, the annual drama festival for theatre-wallahs below the age of 25, is back. Having started out in 1999 as a one-act play festival, Thespo has come a long way. Surpassing boundaries of nationality, languages and art forms, its 16th edition promises to be an occasion where all come together for the pure and simple love of theatre. Taking place from 15th to 21st December 2014, the festival is centered on the theme 'Plug-In to the Tamasha'.
This year, Thespo has scoured through a record total of 186 entries from across India, Sri Lanka and Canada, to curate a fresh bouquet of 6 full-length plays, 6 platform performances and 7 fringe performances. Organized by Q TheatreProductions (QTP), under the aegis of Theatre Group Bombay, it will be taking place in two venues this year: Prithvi Theatre, which has been the home of Thespo since 2008, and Sitara Studio, the city's latest indie cultural space that used to stage Marathi plays back in the 1970s.
The Plays:
With its mission to attract the youngest, freshest talent from the theatre world, Thespo 16 is all set to excite, entertain and enthrall with its full-length plays. This year, all the five final plays of this year's competition are of regional languages including Bengali, Hindi and Marathi. Covering themes ranging from social injustice, urbanization and mental disorders, the festival's plays stay true to its tradition of creating an eclectic, diverse viewing experience.
Khushboo Upadhya from Mumbai directs the play NORMAL, based onAnthony Neilson's gripping account of German serial killer Peter Kurten who was convicted in 1931 for the murders of eight people. TAMBOLA,written and directed by Kolkata's Akshay Kapoor, follows three ordinary men who carry out an extraordinary crime of robbing a bank while fate plays a nasty game with them. Apart from these, another play to look forward to is the guest piece FALLS 2-11, the brainchild of Clerke & Joy, a creative duo from Bristol, UK, created in collaboration with Thespo 16, that inspires us to think about the idea of falling and giving in to gravity.
The Platform Performances:
At Thespo 16, you can watch the magic of theatre come alive on the spot with its spontaneous platform performances. Look out for HAPPY ENDING, written and directed by Pune's Dhananjay Mhasawade and Jayesh Newgi, where the protagonist takes matters in his own hands, literally, as things go awry, to ensure he gets his happy ending. Also, there is Bangalore's Jatin Gupta and Tanya Arora with TRP KA ZAMANA HAI, a critique of the Indian media, the fourth pillar of democracy, which to them is in the business of making rather than breaking news and Delhi's Aniket Jaiswal, with his street play titled HUM GHUM HO GAYE, that gives voice to the marginalized nomadic and de-notified tribes of India.
The Fringe Performances:
The effort is to demonstrate the purity and simplicity of theatre without the frills. Of noteworthy mention is the VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PROJECT, conceptualized by Gillian Clark, an interdisciplinary Theatre Artist hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia. It will mark two years since the Delhi Gang Rape with a cross-cultural discussion on the meaning of sexual violence against women in urban India and Canada.
Thespo 16 will also include a film screening in association with Alliance Francaise Bombay of Ariane Mnouchknine's film 'L' Aventure du Theatre du Soleil' (1974), where director Catherine Vilpoux recounts director Mnouchkine's iconic artistic journey and reveals a never-seen-before portrait of her avant-garde stage ensemble Theatre du Soleil. There will also be a dramatized play reading in association with the Goethe Institute where Daniel D'Souza, a young director, will create a short performance from plays of Roland Schimmelpfennig under the mentorship of Ramu Ramanathan.
The Workshops:
Along with providing a stage for today's young theatre wallahs, the festival also believes in nurturing their craft and expanding their knowledge through its numerous workshops. 'The Actor's Tool Box', an acting workshop by Glenn Hayden (hailing from Australia with 28 years of working with and creating theatre for youth) and Kyla D' Souza (from the legendary Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute), is designed for actors to discover, explore and maintain their 'box' of acting tools.
Aspirants can also look out for 'An Actor's Foundation', which offers a peek into an actor's inner emotional life and how to effective wield the instrument of body movement under the guidance of Jeffery Goldberg, faculty member at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, The School of Visual Arts, and Fordham University.
Thespo 16 has also lined up workshops like 'Magic Hour', a theatre lighting workshop by Arghya Lahiri and 'Creating a Make-Believe World', a set design workshop by Vivek Jadhav. You can also catch the legendary lok shahir Shambhaji Bhagat in his workshop 'A Musical Rebellion', as he talks about the bond between music and theatre and recounts the history of protest theatre in India.
Talking about Thespo 16 and the Indian theatre scene, Saatvika Kantamneni, Festival Director- Thespo 16, said, "With Thespo 16, we have uncovered some of the most promising theatre wallahs not just from the corners of India, but also Sri Lanka and Canada. With such an assorted range of performances and workshops, it will be a treat not just for theatre aspirants, but also audiences and enthusiasts."
The Music:
Continuing its support of all forms of artistic talent, Thespo 16 will intersperse its theatre performances with a host of live music shows. You can sway to the acoustic folk and soft rock sounds of Shubhangi Joshi, a Mumbai-based singer-songwriter and guitarist or enjoy as Pune's Meera Shenoy croons her favorite folk/ jazz/ blues numbers. If classic rock is more up your alley, tap your feet to the tunes of bass guitarist Vivek Date who is influenced by bands like the Beatles, the Who and Cream You can also watch out for Indo Gypsies, one of the most prolific folk/ fusion/ world music bands from India, who seamlessly blend folk with many genres and captivate audiences in their vibrant attire.
For information on the complete schedule of events, ticket prices, etc., please visitwww.thespo.org.
Mumbai Theatre Guide takes no responsibility for change in schedule.
