Ahmedabad Theatre Festival kicks off with a bang

The 'Theatre forever, everywhere' rally on Friday morning felt like Greek theatre, opined head of drama department, Gujarat College, Janak Dave. He was among the many eminent personalities present at the inauguration of the Ahmedabad Theatre Festival (ATF). "This festival has committed and amateur artistes, writers and directors. It is the theatre of the other extremes initiated with an aim to bring about social reforms, required in the 21st century," said Dave.

ATF, scheduled from February 24-26, will showcase 25 performances in five different languages. These will be performed at three venues and community spaces in the city. Theatre groups from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Haryana besides Gujarat will participate in the fest.

According to former English professor at MSU, Vadodara, literary critic and activist Ganesh Devi, ATF is a gift of Budhan theatre to Ahmedabad. Adding that ATF should not be considered as a festival but as an experiment, Devi said, "Between Diwali in 2012 and Holi in 2013, ATF will visit 20-25 states and present different plays."

He hopes this initiative will give rise to a national library of sorts of meaningful theatre. "Work of an artiste is complex. It will send out signals which will create a new positive energy in the society. What we lack today is humanism and the theatre festival in Ahmedabad and other states will help revive humanisim in the demonic minds of today."

Agreeing with him, Dakxin Bajarange, director, Budhan Theatre, added, "It is important to know why institutions like Budhan are vital in the 21st century. This is a way of bridging the gap between the mainstream and marginalised communities."

The three theatre venues are Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Hall, Chinubhai Chimanbhai Sabha Gruh at HK College and Jaishankar Sundari Hall in Raikhad in addition to community spaces namely Chharanagar, Dalit Vaas in Nehrunagar and Bhilvaas in Kubernagar where plays will be performed.