National Theatre Festival for Children at palakkadu

The regional centre of the national school of drama (NSD RRC) is organizing a National theatre festival for Children at Municipal Town hall Palakkadu from 02^nd 06^th November 2011. Eight beautiful children’s plays from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will be performed in the fest. A theatre workshop for school teachers and a photo exhibition is also arranged along with the fest. The plays are scheduled at 6.30 in the evening.

Prof. Kumara Varma will inaugurate in festival at 6.30 pm on th second in which Chandradasan is the chief guest. Suresh Anagally, the director of NSD RRC will participate in the function.

The inaugural play is Nai Mari Natakam, in Kannada, written by Vydehi, directed by Jeevan Ram Sulia, and performed by Alvas education foundation, Moodbidri, Karnataka. Vaidehi born in 1945, in Kundapura, Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka is a well-known Kannada fiction writer and poet, renowned for her espousal of the cause of women. Her writings, generally described as post-modernist, depict the plight of women in an indignant and rebellious tone. A versatile writer, she writes short fiction, novels, essays, children’s plays and poems.

On the third Land of Pongo in Tamil directed by Shanmukharaja and performed by comfort international school Coimbatore, and Kanniyude Makkal based on a story by Ravindranatha Tagore, directed by Gopi Kuttikkol and performed by Sunday theatre Kasargodu will be performed.

On the fourth two Malayalam plays are scheduled. They are Cyclist written by Vijay Tendulkar and directed by Satyabhama for Navarang Palakkadu, and Chipko, Chipko written and directed by Shirly Somasundaran for Mazhavillu Kochi, Kerala.

Chipko Chipko is based on this year’s World Environment Day message — Forest, Nature at your service; and is based on the lives of the 363 Bishnoi women who sacrificed their lives to protect trees in 1773. The protests by the Bishnoi women against felling of trees to build King Abhay Singh’s palace is considered the first attempt by women to safeguard trees in history.

On the 05^th of November the plays are Mandrika Kannadi written and directed by KV Ganesh, for Rangachethana Trissur, will be followed by Kaboolivalayum Makkalum written by Tagore and directed by Asok Sasi for Rangaprabhath Thiruvananthapuram will be performed.

On the last day  “Sadako – Savira Kokkugalu,” Kannada adaptation of the Malayalam play written by Vayala Vasudevan Pillai, performed by the Kinnara Mela team from Tumari, directed by B.R. Venkataramana Aithal will be performed.

The inauguration of the valedictory function will be inaugurated by PV Krishnan Nair, the secretary of Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi and the chief guest is Prof.G.Dileepan.

It is good to see that all the childrens theatre groups that are continuously working in Kerala are represented in this festival. The festival is organised by the local cooperation of Navarang Palakkadu.