Play Time

Mandi House regulars, who were missing the hustle and bustle of the Bharat Rang Mahotsav, have a reason to queue up before the ticket counters once again. The 10th Natsamrat Natya Utsav 2013 starts today with a line-up of plays by an array of directors from Delhi. “A special characteristic of the festival has always been that some of the best Delhi-based theatre groups present their plays under one roof,” says Mun Mun, assistant director of Natsamrat Theatre Group.

Most plays are comedies, yet their ambit of commentary covers a wide range of sociopolitical realities. While Shyam Kumar’s Pujya Pitaji is a story of an old man whose grown-up sons are unconcerned about him, Kambakth Ishq is about two elderly people who want to talk and share their feelings. Chandu ki Chachi is about three young boys, the girls of their dreams, a millionaire aunt and a plan going wrong.

Among Sohaila Kapur’s longest-running plays, Under Secretary, too, is a part of the festival. “The storyline highlights middle-class hypocrisy, bureaucrats and their status-conscious wives,” says Kapur. The festival also brings alive two famous personalities of Indian history and spirituality — in Aurangzeb and Swami Vivekananda respectively.

For the past five years, the festival has also included a theatre award, and the winners of this year, who will be honoured on January 27, include Tripurari Sharma for Best Writer and Bapi Bose for Best Director to Sushma Seth getting a Lifetime Achievement award.

The festival will be held at LTG auditorium from today till February 3. Contact: 9811232072