With India hosting the largest international theatre festival – the 8th Theatre Olympics – for the first time, Chennai is set to shine under the spotlight, as the city prepares itself to be one of the co-hosts to the biggest theatrical extravaganza in the world.
The Chennai chapter of Theatre Olympics 2018 is organized by National School of Drama under the aegis of Ministry of Culture, Government of India and in collaboration with the Department of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu.
The people of Chennai and Tamil Nadu are well familiar with the rich culture of Tamil theatre. The city being one of the co-host gives its theatre enthusiasts the opportunity to experience a variety of folk, national, and international theatre.
“Chennai is at the highest seat of art and culture and it is a great centre for learning. The theatre olympics will be a combination of performance and learning for the theatre enthusiasts. With many cultural and art centres in Chennai, students from NSD visit the city for a great learning experience. Infact, Chennai is one of the centres for preliminary examinations for joining the National School of Drama,” said Dr. Shantanu Bose, Dean Academics, National School of Drama, New Delhi.
The mega event will provide the people of the state to catch a series of 10 stimulating world class performances, including folk production “Raja Risalu” (Ustad Pt. Om Prakash Sharma), specially invited plays from renowned theatre maestros such as “Khol Do” (Mayakrishna Rao), “Ramayana” (Shanti Bardhan), “Kalivesham” (K.N. Panikkar) and an international production from Italy, “Ticina” (Simona Di Maio E). Other plays that will enchant the city from 18th to 27th February, 2018, include “Malathi Madhava” (KV Akshara), “Shakespeare’s Nataka Prakarana” (Manish Mitra), “Goodbye Forever” (Feizal Alkazi), and “Lakshman Rekha” (Pritpal Singh).
The Honourable Vice President of India Shri Venkaiah Naidu would inaugurate the 51-day-long nationwide theatre extravaganza at majestic Red Fort, Delhi, on 17th February 2018 at 6:30 PM. With “Flag of Friendship” as its theme, the 8th edition of Theatre Olympics will celebrate universal friendship and human values by showcasing theatre traditions of India and the world.
The 8th Theatre Olympics would also include 2 international seminars in Delhi and Mumbai with 6 national seminars in Bhopal, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kolkata and Varanasi.
The festival will finally culminate with a grand ceremony on 8th April, 2018 at the iconic Gateway of India, Mumbai.