TRIPUNITHURA TO HOST CLASSICAL THEATRE FEST

Tripunithura will host a theatre festival showcasing regional manifestations of Indian classical theatre from March 1.

The Kulasekhara Theatre Festival 2014, organised by the International Centre for Koodiyattom in association with Union Department of Culture, will feature classical forms of theatre such as Koodiyattom, Koothu, Padakam, Poorakkali, Marathukali, Ankiya Nat (classical one-act play of Assam), Pandavani (from Chhattisgarh) and Bengali traditional theatre. The Kulasekhara of the 10th Century AD is believed to have launched Koodiyattom with his Vyangyavyaakhya.

Seminars will be conducted as part of the festival on topics ranging from the polysemy of enactments and theory and practice of theatre to aspects of theatre training, representation and performance of women and semiotic readings of performance texts. Nearly 20 performances and lecture-demonstrations of various classical theatrical arts will add colour to the festival.

Minister of Ports and Excise K. Babu will inaugurate the fest at Layam Ground on March 1. He will also give away the Kulasekhara Award to noted percussionist Mizhavu exponent P.K. Narayanan Nambiar.

Koodiyattom maestro Kalamandalam Rama Chakyar will be felicitated at the function for winning this year’s State award.

Scholars, art enthusiasts and academics like K.G. Paulose, M.G.S. Narayanan and M.R. Raghava Warrier will speak on Kerala’s theatre heritage, on the Cheras and the Kulasekharas, and the cultural heritage of Kodungalloor.

All performances will take place at Layam Ground. The festival will conclude on March 5.