Celebrating 100 years of theatre legends Ebrahim Alkazi and Badal Sircar, a three-day Natya Nirvan Festival will be organised at Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy (UPSNA) in Lucknow starting Friday, on the occasion of World Theatre Day.
On the concluding day of the festival, veteran writer Javed Siddiqui and veteran theatre personality Nadira Babbar will be felicitated with the lifetime achievement award The Thespian. Theatre director-actor Salim Arif will deliver a talk on Alkazi, while director Anil Ranjan Bhaumik will speak on Sircar.
Two plays will be staged every day, including Savita Rani’s English play Notions in Between You & Me, and Shubham Tiwari’s India After Bhagat Singh. On day two, the dastaangoi Hum Dekhenge (on poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz) will be performed by Gunjan Jain and Ajay Jain, and Swati Dubey’s play Agarbatti will be staged. On the concluding day, Vineet Mishra and Pallavi Raj will perform dastaangoi Dhanush Yagya, and Tariq Hamid’s play Marhoom Ki Yaad Mein will be staged.
Ahead of the event, Siddiqui says, “I am happy that I have been invited to the festival and will be able to see new plays, meet people and share my feelings with the audience.” Babbar also shared her excitement, “I am looking forward to meeting theatre lovers from the city, which is full of culture. It’s an honour to be felicitated.”
Organised by BFTA, festival director Shubham Tiwari said, “This is the second edition of the festival. Last time we staged two plays, and this time we have six shows, including two dastaangoi. We are celebrating celebrated theatre personalities Ebrahim and Badal saheb, who are considered pioneers of modern Indian theatre.”
Tiwari will be in conversation with Salim Arif and Anil Ranjan Bhaumik, along with Vidhu Khare Das and Tariq Khan on the concluding day of the festival.
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