Theatre Bonanza at the 5th International Theatre Festival of Kerala

Fearlessly experimental, highly imaginative and very contemporary – that’s how I would describe the International Theatre Festival of Kerala. In its fifth year now, this exciting theater festival in Kerala promises to wow you with nearly 40 performances by artists from India and abroad. Inaugurated on January 15^th in Thrissur at the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy, this is a highly prestigious theater festival in South East Asia and attracts top performers from across the world. The festival will pay special attention to the theater and drama of Eastern Europe this year and you can expect to see theater groups from countries like Uzbekistan, Poland and Romania, among others.

The Kerala theater festival promises to be an extravagant affair that is both diverse in the subject matter of featured productions as well as in presentation styles. Most productions are collaborations between young theater artists from India and elsewhere and they deal with contemporary issues facing our collective societies as well as bank upon the tried and tested masters like Shakespeare. But don’t expect to watch a traditional Hamlet. In fact, don’t even expect to see a static stage! The festival dates are from January 15^th to 22^nd so plan your travel accordingly to catch some of the most interesting plays in theater from India and Europe.

The plays to watch out for

Catch a new twist to Shakespeare’s ultimate intrigue Macbeth in Poland’s Teatr Biuro Podrozy’s Macbeth- Who is that Bloodied Man?. This modernistic interpretation of Macbeth will be an open-air theater show and will employ dynamic tools such as a moving stage, motorcycles and the three infamous wicked witches on stilts.

The Romanian play – This is my body. Come into my mind directed by Alexandra Felseghi will use dance to present new ideas on femininity, the mind-body bridge and how a woman’s personality is built. Dance-theater will see significant representation at this festival in Kerala. Another play to watch out for is The Knocking Within directed and performed by Wendy Jehlen and Pradhuman Nayak. Another theater show that relies on dance to convey its message is Carmen – Choreo-drama from Georgia.

Still wondering about the unusual Hamlet? Go see Hamlet Machine presented by La Mort Theater from Poland and written by German playwright Heiner Muller. This post-modernist drama is rich with feminist themes and delights the audience with its ability to afford multiple interpretations. You must also make time for the Turkmen King Lear – a solo performance by Turkish actor Anna Mele directed by Ovlyakuli Khodzhakulli.

Watch out for the much anticipated French traveling theater company Footsbarn’s Indian Tempest and the Norwegian Last Song by Lars Oyno at this awesome celebration of theater and drama in Kerala. Another extravagant theater show not to be missed is Fellini’s Dreams by Teatro Potlach from Italy that debuted in India at the ongoing Bharat Rang Mahotsav in New Delhi.

The theater of India is represented by a host of thought provoking plays like Arjun Raina’s The Colonial, The Convict and The Cockatoo, Sunil Shanbagh’s 2010 META award-winner Sex, Morality & Censorship – a scathing comment on censorship in India – and Kino Kaon by Pabitra Rabha from Assam. The Kerala festival of theater and drama this year is replete with examples of modern theater of India built on a collaborative platform and After the Silence by Thrissur’s own Martin John C is an apt example. Indian and Latin American artists perform this two-actor play that explores the ambiguous connections between dreams and reality. Naripatta Raju’s Ozhivu Divasathe Kali – a ‘slice of life’ play on Kerala’s contemporary social sphere and Mohit Takalkar’s Gajab Kahani based on Jose Saramago’s The Elephant Journey are two other theater shows worth your time.

The list is by no means complete and the only way you can experience the majestic scale of this event is to get to Thrissur as soon as you can. Tell us all about it once you come back, we’re waiting to hear from you!