What do we carry when we leave a place behind? Can a language keep us connected to our roots when its speakers grow fewer? And when borders divide communities, landscapes disappear or memories begin to fade — what does it take to feel at home? These These questions form the heart of the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival 2026. Based on the theme of Belonging: Through Memory, Migration and Boundaries — this year’s edition approaches home not as a fixed place or inherited identity, but as something we negotiate, lose, reclaim and create with others.
The festival brings together theatre in Hindi, Balti, Ladakhi, Haryanavi, Malayalam, Bengali and English — placing different histories, landscapes and cultural memories in conversation. Across six productions, it examines the visible and invisible boundaries that shape our sense of belonging — from geographical borders and social exclusion to environmental change, migration, family and identity.
“We have been curating the festival on and off for 22 years, sometimes individually and sometimes with S Surendranath and I, as trustees and artistic advisors. But we have had our fill, so we thought, why not share the routine? We have had different people curate the festival in the past. But I was particularly excited by the idea of having five young theatre practitioners — Surabhi J Herur, Vinay Shastry, Sushma Rao, Utthana Bharighat and Sneha Kappanna — curate it together. Two decades ago, they were just beginning to find their feet in theatre. They have grown in the atmosphere of Ranga Shankara and in a sense, are its inheritors. Each of them makes a different kind of work and brings a distinct theatrical perspective. I felt it was time to put our tools down, step aside and let the next generation take over. It was entirely their idea to put out an open call and choose the theme themselves. They have worked with shoestring budgets, which is a tough job and I am very proud of what they have done,” reveals Arundhati Nag, founder, Ranga Shankara.
Championing diverse theatrical traditions since 2004, the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival brings together varied linguistic and artistic voices. This year, the focus turns to the relationship between people and the places they call home.
“The theme emerged organically. Each of us wrote a short curatorial note outlining what we felt mattered and what we wanted to explore. We pooled our ideas, some elaborate and others brief and brought them together. Interestingly, there was common ground, which helped us arrive at a distilled theme that resonated with all of us. Belonging was the common thread running through our ideas but it means different things to different people. We wanted the theme to reflect this multiplicity. Belonging can be shaped by migration and memory, while boundaries can determine whether we feel included or excluded. We wanted to explore how we draw boundaries between ourselves and whether breaking them can help us find a sense of belonging,” Sneha Kappanna elucidates.
A simple social media callout for applications by the curatorial team drew an overwhelming response of over 400 entries. Out of these, they picked six productions across diverse languages, geographies, cultural histories and theatrical practices — offering different perspectives on memory, migration, displacement, identity and home. The line-up features Shyok, Aada Aada Lakhav Hai, Chevittorma, Hanskhalir Hans, Porattu and A Fish Ate My Cat.
“We put out the call for applications on July 1 and honestly did not expect so many entries, particularly from across the globe. The decision to invite applications came early because we knew there must be theatre happening beyond what we were familiar with that deserved to be showcased at a festival like Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival. Having experienced the festival for over 22 years, we have seen how the work presented here can change the way people understand theatre. Speaking for myself, I would not have taken up theatre as a full-time profession had I not been exposed to its different possibilities. We wanted to bring productions to Bengaluru that audiences here may not have had the opportunity to see,” Sushma Rao shares.
Marking 22 years since the first play was staged at Ranga Shankara, October 27 will see Chutuku bring together eight directors from Kannada theatre groups, eight playwrights and 48 actors to celebrate Bengaluru’s Kannada theatre community.
“The format brings participants together for three days, on October 25, 26 and 27. On the first day, directors are paired with playwrights through a lottery-style draw, after which actors are assigned to form different teams. The process ensures that people do not simply choose collaborators they already know or have worked with. Each team must write a script that day. The following day is dedicated to developing the performance. The teams get access to the main stage on the morning of October 27 for technical preparation and rehearsals before presenting their work that evening,” Surabhi J Herur explains.
The festival extends its exploration of belonging beyond the main stage through readings, post-performance conversations and participatory experiences that invite audiences to contribute their own stories. On October 28, The Many Ways Home presents Letters of Home, a rehearsed and directed reading of actual letters written by people who have had to leave places they considered home. Drawing on research papers and archives, the reading brings members of Bengaluru’s theatre frater nity lending their voices to these personal histories.
“These are actual letters written by people who have experienced having to move away from places where they thought they belonged. We wanted to bring some of Bengaluru’s theatre fraternity together to read them. The letters have been sourced through research papers and archives, allowing these personal accounts to be heard beyond the contexts in which they were written,” Vinay Shastry tells us.
People as Archives invites strangers to sit across a table and exchange stories of migration, journeys undertaken, languages lost and places left behind. The telephone booth offers another way to listen to a stranger’s account of finding belonging in a new city. “The telephone booth offers a more fleeting exchange. Visitors listen to a story left behind by the previous person, then record their own, replacing the earlier account. The sequence ensures that stories are passed along rather than permanently attached to the person who shared them first,” Utthana Bharighat says. Whereas the Acts of Kindness booth offers a different kind of exchange, asking visitors to recount a stranger’s small gesture that made them feel at home.
Elsewhere, a curated poetry reading brings poets and poetry lovers together for an evening of verse in Hindi, Urdu, Kannada, Malayalam and other languages. An audio booth explores how recipes travel with people, change across borders and preserve memories of places left behind. Art installations ask visitors to contribute their own interpretations of home, building a collective portrait from different experiences of belonging. Lastly, the festival also plans to hold a theatre circle after each of its six main productions, allowing audiences to sit with the actors and directors in the foyer. These informal exchanges are intended to make room for conversation beyond conventional postshow feedback, allowing the performances to continue through the experiences and questions they leave with the audiences.
₹200 onwards. On till October 31. At JP Nagar.
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