Chiguru x Kusumaale: Sustaining the future of new Kannada theatre

When Chiguru x Kusumaale Theatre Festival opened earlier this month, audiences were introduced to a festival built around new writing. Through productions such as LBW and Ghaati! — the inaugural edition of the Girish Karnad Fellowship for Kannada Playwriting brought fresh voices and contemporary concerns to the stage. But as the festival moved into its second and final week, another layer of its ambition emerged. Between June 11 and 13, the festival expanded beyond performance, weaving together rehearsed readings, workshops and seminars that explored what it takes not only to create theatre, but to sustain it.

For the festival directors Ujwala Rao and Vivek Madan, that distinction is crucial. “Writing a play is only one part of being an artiste; sustaining a life in the arts is the other,” Ujwala says. That idea finds expression in the festival, where the rehearsed reading of Ankura on June 11 was accompanied by a workshop on grant writing and arts management. While the pairing may appear unusual, it reflects a practical reality faced by emerging artistes. Alongside creativity comes the challenge of navigating funding, administration and long-term sustainability. The reading itself introduced audiences to playwright Dr Madhuri Kulkarni’s exploration of family, attachment and reproductive medicine. What made Ankura particularly distinctive was the perspective from which it has been written. As Ujwala points out, the playwright’s own experience as a medical practitioner lends authenticity to a story centred on IVF and reproductive healthcare. If Ankura asked intimate questions about family and belonging, Angaara (staged on June 12), widened the frame.

Set against the backdrop of Kambala culture, the play stood out during the fellowship process for its richly imagined world and emotional depth. “It is an incredibly moving tale for an old take. You could say it is Romeo & Juliet set in Karnataka. But the world of the Koragas tribes brings it home in a way Shakespeare might never do for us,” says collaborating director of the festival, Vivek Madan. One can also expect a seminar on translation, a subject that remains surprisingly under-discussed in theatre circles despite its importance. For a festival dedicated to new Kannada writing, the conversation is particularly relevant. Translation offers playwrights the possibility of reaching audiences beyond linguistic boundaries while retaining the cultural specificity that gives their work its power.

The festival’s focus then turned to Saragu — a production described as subtle, layered and rich in metaphor. Directed by Savitha Byrappa, the play promised a visually immersive experience, drawing on the director’s reputation for creating meaning through design and imagery as much as through dialogue. Running alongside the performance was a seminar on the politics of performance led by proffesor Rajendra Chenni. The discussion reflects a recurring theme throughout the festival: that stories are never created in isolation. “All the plays being staged during the festival are political in different ways. Some engage with politics directly and overtly, while others do so more subtly,” explains Ujwala.

For Kusumaale, these conversations were not peripheral additions to the programme. They were central to its vision. Both the directors in conversation with us, pointed to the rehearsed readings, exhibitions, listening corners, script archives and workshops as part of a broader effort to create engagement with theatre beyond the stage itself. The response suggests that audiences are embracing that invitation. Throughout the festival, conversations have continued long after performances have ended. Artistes, writers and audiences have lingered in foyers and corridors, discussing ideas, asking questions and exchanging perspectives. “There has been a conscious effort to break down the wall between the audience and the work they witness,” reveals Ujwala. That openness has also revealed an appetite for new writing. According to Vivek, some audience members have attended every reading and performance simply because they are eager to encounter contemporary stories. “There is a dearth of contemporary stories on stage and this fills a need,” he says.

As Chiguru approached its conclusion, that sense of inquiry felt like its most enduring achievement. The festival began by introducing new playwrights and new stories. Its second and final week revealed something larger: an attempt to create the conversations, resources and communities that allowed those stories to continue long after the curtain fell.