Classic interpretation of theatre to be showcased in capital

New Delhi, Jan 5 (UNI) A host of contemporary plays seeking to give a ''modern interpretation'' to classics by Indian and foreign litterateurs - from Kalidasa, Rabindranath Tagore and Saadat Hasan Manto to Shakespeare, Aeschylus, Ibsen, Euripedes, Chekov and Kefko - will regale theatre buff in the capital at a "Theatre Festival" beginning tomorrow.

Plays like a Chinese Miss Julie, a Kannada Lear, an Iranian replay of Shakespeare's Julious Ceasar besides three others plays taking inspiration from Shakespeare's works will be showcased. A play based on a Sanskrit classic 'Uttararamacharita' and a Marathi play based on poetry of Tajik Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi will also be showcased at the ninth edition of the 'Bharat Rang Mahotsav', the annual theatre festival by the National School of Drama which opens at Delhi Siri Fort auditorium in the Capital tomorrow.

A total of 52 theatre productions, including 13 from foreign countries like Australia, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Germany, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Nepal, Poland Sri Lanka, Switzerland and Uzbekistan, will be staged at the 15 day festival, to be held at five venues - the Kamani auditorium, the Sri Ram Centre Auditorium and three NSD theatres - Bahamukh, Sammukh and Abhimanch.

It will be inaugurated by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni at Siri Fort auditorium tomorrow. The festival will open with a dance performance by celebrated dancer and choreographer from Germany, Sasha Waltz.

Featured at this year's festival will be a special section on dance theatre, which will cover almost the entire range of convergence between dance and theatre. While the festival will have performances by major Indian dancers and choregraphers like Maya Krishna Rao, Padmini Chettur, Geeta Chandran and Veenapani Chawla, exponents of International dance theatre like Sasha Waltz, Leszek Bzdyl, Beatrice Jaccard and Peter Schelling will also perform as part of the festival.

The festival, which closes on January 20, will feature plays by Indian directors like Prasanna, Nadira Babbar, Sunil Shanbaq, Zuleikha Chaudhary and Koushik Sen.

This year, the Bharat Rang Mahotsav will pay tribute to two eminent personalities for their lifetime achievement - theatre director Alyque Padamsee will present his Mecbeth and choreographer Narendra Sharma will present 'Mukhantar' and 'Conference' at the festival.

UNI