“Muktadhara Internatonal Theater Festival 2018”

Hnexpress Amrita Sikdar, Kolkata : Muktadhara, the international forum theatre festival organized by Jana Sanskriti Center for Theater of the Oppressed will be held from 8 to 22 Dec, 2018. This is bi-annual festival organized since 2004 is in its 8th edition and will host 52 participants from 16 different countries this year. The festival will be held in two phases-first in Kolkata, then travelling with forum theatre performance to the villages of rural Bengal.

Jana Sanskriti which was started as an experiment about 30 years ago by a group of dedicated people who saw it as an effective means of Social change into contact with Augusto Boal of Brazil who is known as the father of Theater of the Oppressed, and Jana Sanskriti- center of Theater of the Oppressed in Kolkata. Their plays range from domestic violence to political violence, recounstruction of Public institutions to resistance against aggressive forms of development.

Jana Sanskriti work with the marginalized communities has become subject for thesis and dissertations in 42 universities including Harvard, Cornell, Chicago, Cambridge, London, Manchester and East Anglia University. In November 2015 Jana Sanskriti International Research and Resource Institute was launched as a new milestone in history of Jana Sanskriti. The important reason for organizing Muktadhara is that become an international meeting ground for forum Theater teams and practitioners including those trained by Jana Sanskriti all over India.

At this Festival provid this valuable opportunity to interact with each other and see each others work. Peforming phase of the festival will be inaugurated at Mohit Moitro Mancha, Kolkata on 13th December, 2018 by Sri. Goutam De, regional Director, ICCR and prof. Vinod Pavarala, Chairhoder, Unesco Chair for Community Media. On this day, Jana Sanskriti will Present a Play “KHELAR GHOR”. On 13 December, Jana Sanskriti Will be Felicitating Sri. Chapal Bhaduri, Veteran Theater actor, for this lifetime contribution to theater art.

16 to 21 December, the festival will travel to the villages of Sundarbans where internationalpaarticipants and Jana Sanskriti actors will perform for 1000+ audience in 5 different Melas.