An evening of retrospective theatre

City-based theatre troupe

Natyadarpana

is celebrating

World Theatre Day

with a play that will make audiences retrospect. Saddu Vicharane Naditide is a

Kannada

drama about a certain incident that involves a travelling theatre troupe. Speaking about the production, one of the play’s actors, Srinidhi BS, says, “The story is about a theatre troupe that travels all across Karnataka, which is getting ready to enact a courtroom scene in a village. They do it with the intention of getting a certain message across to the village head, but having performed the piece many times, they want to throw a new spin on the narrative. They improvise, but what they do not know is that the new plotline is uncannily similar to the predicament of one of the members of the troupe — Leela Benare, an unmarried woman who is pregnant. The consequences and incidents that follow make up the rest of the narrative.”

Why did the team want to stage this particular production on World Theatre Day? “In today’s day and age, everyone has two personalities that they project — one is their true self, the other is the mask they wear for the people around them. We wanted to bring to light the dual nature of humankind and get our audiences to retrospect about the same,” says Srinidhi. There will also be an initiation talk for audiences about world theatre and will felicitate two prominent personalities from Kannada theatre, prior to the performance.


What is the significance of World Theatre Day?
World Theatre Day is celebrated every year on March 27. The practice began in 1961, with the day being identified by the

International Theatre Institute

. This day essentially draws notice to the importance and significance of theatre in society. There are certain goals that theatre troupes the world over work towards year after year, on this day. The main aim is to promote theatre of all forms and to draw people’s awareness to the importance that different forms of theatre hold. The day also highlights the need to help theatre communities advance the reach of their work, so that leaders and people in positions of power can support the art form. This day also reminds people to enjoy theatre for theatre’s sake, to share their experiences of the art form with others and celebrate the form in its entirety.