Myriad themes at Delhi's nine-day theatre fest

(life) Theatre lovers of New Delhi can look forward to a nine-day theatre festival in the national capital from December 21-29, with noted productions by Girid Karnad, Manav Kaul, and K. S. Rajendran in the line-up.

The Panna Bharat Ram Theatre Festival, organised annually by the Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts (SRCPA), will open its sixth edition with a range of engaging plays.

True to the spirit of excellence and exploration in which it was conceived, the festival brings well-acclaimed, award-winning productions along with great opening show to its audience.

Home to different genres, the festival will stage William Inge's love story "Splendor In The Grass" a Hindi adaptation directed by Feisal Alkazi.

Girish Karnad's classic "Agni Aur Barkha", a poignant play on power play; "Bali", KS Rajendran's narrative of a king who is devastated to discover that his queen is involved with an elephant-keeper; and Mahesh Dattani's "Tara", which deals with the idea of female infanticide, will form part of the festival.

Also scheduled are Santvana Nigam's "Sehaj Ka Sargam" that details out the intricacies of human relationships, and "Compunction" by Kaushik Bose which is a psychological thriller exploring the human psyche of guilt.

Along with "Agni aur Barkha", the plays returning to this festival after its last year's edition, are Joseph Kesselring's play "Arsenic And Old Lace", a farcical black comedy, and Manav Kaul's nostalgic teen comedy "Prem Kabootar".

Shrilal Shukla's "Dastan-e-Raag Darbari", a brutally honest satire on politics and society, is also scheduled.

Showcasing a myriad shades of human emotions with brilliant acting skills by well-known actors, the festival has something for everyone.

( With inputs from IANS )