Awaiting the theatre festivities of CIFT

by Dr Ajay Joshi

When I received the invitation for being a part of the second edition of the CITF (Colombo International Theatre festival), there undoubtedly was excitement. Partly an excitement to travel to a foreign land I had not visited earlier. But more an excitement to visit a place where theatre was being used in such an innovative way to bring people together, after experiencing an unsettling political mayhem. On the other hand there was apprehension as I was not sure what to expect both personally and professionally as a theatre observer. Fortunately this trepidation was partly laid to rest as I had met Safeer, the artistic Director of the CITF, when he was in India recently.

I have been a part of festivals both national and international, and often come away charmed by the entire bonhomie that accompanies such occasions.

There is a frenzy of activities both prior to and during the festival, but the common thread or should I more precisely say, angst, that binds them together is that it is no mean task to sail through it with élan and without the ‘more often than occasional’, hiccups. And so I appreciate this endeavour to sustain the festivities for the second year in tow against all odds.

Theatre journalist

Inspite of being a theatre journalist and writer, this call to write an article to the Sunday Observer, came as a surprise. I am used to my readers, but wasn’t sure what ticks for those yonder. For starters, I dangled on the origin of the word ‘Festival’, and came away amused that it originated from the word ‘Feast’.

A time to party, to rejoice with fun and frolic, a time to share notes, meet people, network, see other productions, extend the celebrations to involve the city and its people.

In short a time to let your hair down and relax in the basking warmth of (Here) theatre! I am not sure if this always happens as intent and focus differ from place to place. But I have decided to piece out a bit of this definition and try to make myself useful, apart from raising concerns and looking through the critic’s eye!

What better way to share than to talk about the theatres in India and the kind of theatre work seen in my state of Maharashtra, which boasts of more than 170 years of its existence in the theatre scenario of India. I have a choice to peppering it with heavily loaded historic jargon or then glide through prominent landmarks of the theatres in India.

However in the talk which I will present at CIFT this year, I plan to lay it simply, making it more accessible to the casual theatregoers and at the same time dole out food for thought for the intellectual.

India is a vast country, of varied cultures and languages. Hence it is impossible to name one that can be called as an ‘Indian theatre or National Theatre’. What eventually presents itself, is a collage of regional theatres, each a vibrant, dynamic entity. Launching from a brief historic rhetoric, I plan to meander the talk to the various themes and forms used, spaces for presentations, inspirations for playwrights and directors, innovative experiments in theatre, theatre education, problems faced by the theatre fraternity, collaborations etc, before skirting off to the Marathi theatre and the contemporary scenario.

Academic talk

For those who may not be satiated by this academic talk and would like to wet their palette more, I will be carrying a documentary on the theatres of India, which would give a visual representation of the text narrated and open corridors for more informal and creative interactions.

Accompanying me will be three productions, ‘Cafila’ ( a theatric adaptation from a short story), ‘The Last Colour’( an original play) and ‘Knotted Ropes’ (an improvised production which was the culmination of a workshop conducted by Safeer for the students of Flame School of Performing Arts, Pune) and incidentally all from the same city, Pune, where I come from. I have been witness to their making and subsequent staging’s and hold high praise for them.

I look forward to witnessing productions from other countries, which do not normally travel to India. Extending this festival between two cities in Sri lanka and the journey to travel between the two, will be another feature I look forward too. Spaces, forms, content, audiences are an integral part of theatre with their own distinct flavour. Understanding this in the context of India and the larger world panorama will be a learning experience.

Having traced the path taken by the festival over the past two years and the scenario in Sri Lanka prior to that, it can only draw appreciation from me.

Working as a team to make a dream realise, with all its tears and joy, is an experience and the success laudable. Wishing the very best for this year and for the many more to come!

The writer is an Indian theatre critic who is an invited guest speaker at this year’s Colombo International Theatre Festival. He holds a Master’s Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Pune from the Symbiosis College, Pune.