National theatre festival unfolds in Jalandhar

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 27

After a long hiatus due to Covid-19, which deeply affected the cultural and theatre scene in the city, Jalandhar is set for its 7th edition of the National Theatre Festival — YUVAA Rang Utsav (YRU), which will begin in Jalandhar from November 28 onwards.

The theatre festival will feature plays brought in from across the country. While none of the annual theatre festivals could be hosted amid the pandemic, the upcoming theatre festival will be the first post-Covid theatre-only festival, featuring outings from veterans and varied talents from across India.

The 7th edition of YRU will go on for five weeks and stage nine plays from different cities of India over the weekends. Starting on November 28, it will continue till December 26.

While auditoriums and public places remained closed during the first year of the pandemic, the theatre scene had also been impacted by the same. After its first post-pandemic individual play outing on September 18, the theatre group is now playing host to plays brought in by theatre groups from West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab.

Cities from where plays will be brought during the festival include Kolkata, Patiala, Mumbai, Jalandhar, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh.

Creative Director, YUVAA, Ankur Sharma said: “We were unable to hold three of our scheduled theatre festivals due to the pandemic. We were ready with Punjabi Rang Utsav 2020 but it had to be cancelled due to Covid restrictions. YUVA Rang Utsav 2020 and Punjabi Rang Utsav 2021 could also not take place due to Covid. So, we are happy to finally host our post-Covid theatre festival. The idea is to give a regular treat of best quality theatre to residents in our region, so that watching good theatre becomes a habit. This is more important in the light of the fact that the post-corona world has become a largely online affair and people are moving away

from reality. Theatre, a live performance medium, can surely keep us connected to the real world.”

The plays to be featured at the festival include Kusum Kusum (Kolkata); Mere Lok (Patiala); Shree and Blue (Mumbai); Chidiyaghar (Jalandhar); Darwin (Ahmedabad); Bhanwariya Kaalet (Jaipur); Agg di ik baat hai (Chandigarh); Shaheed Udham Singh (Chandigarh) and All My Sons (Jalandhar).

Kusum Kusum will feature veteran theatre actors Sujan Mukhopadhyay and his wife Nivedita Mukhopadhyay. Among others, the festival will also feature Thin Line Theatre group from Mumbai; the Kalandar Group from Rajasthan, which will bring in their play regarding the plight of the Marasi community of Rajasthan; Panjab University Chandigarh’s Associate Professor, theatre, D. Navdeep Kaur will bring in her play ‘Agg Di Ik Baat Hai’ based on the life of Punjabi poetess Amrita Pritam.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.