A father provoked the system to return his son, a mixologist hidden his Dalit identity to serve a racist society, and a village that is struggling to find ways to avoid his ruler’s eccentric dicks -these are some of the tasks that are going to be staged in the ongoing Mata -2025 (Mahindra excellence at the Theater Awards). And, while speaking to feist the theater practitioners in the ongoing Mata -2025, it assures that the Great Theater is about challenging how we think and how we aspire to be or as Stella Adler said, drama is not in words, it is in us.
At a time when Thespians are struggling to hold their independent voice, 10 plays in seven languages, 25 states and 47 languages and 367 entries in 47 languages and dialects were shortlisted, underlining the diverse and inclusive approach of the festival that meet two decades of commitment to the quality theater this year.
Have you seen my son Meta Fest on 2025 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
P. Based on Rajan case, Kannan Palakkad Kando Nil Ante Kutti Kando (Have you seen my son) reflects a father’s struggle to find his missing son. Kannan explains, “A student worker, Rajan died in police custody during the Emergency, but the state refused to exist as his body never found.” The Malayalam drama is an eye -opening for those who feel that the Emergency affects only the northern parts of the country, as Kannan captures the shadow of dark days in South India. “Rajan’s teacher-father TV each Warrier was also a worker and classmate of the then Chief Minister. He continued to knock on the doors of political leadership and judiciary. But justice was denied, “Kannan says.
It was described through “real and real moments”, where a police officer apologizes to the father, Kannan says: “We have followed the play with many circumstances.” He said that the play has a contemporary ring because state equipment around the world continues to protect their skin at the cost of the common man.
KP Laxman brings out social division into an urban milestone Kodihal to Bob MarleyI, a dark comedy in Kannada. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Usually, we talk about caste in a rural context, but KP Laxman brings out social division in an urban milestone. Kodihal to Bob MarleyI, a dark comedy in Kannada, where a mixerist working in Bengaluru changed his name after the Reg Icon, which is to avoid ridicule. “This drama is about how people are forced to hide their identity in a racist society and talk about how caste and food culture works in urban set-ups.”
Laxman says Waiting for visa And Rohit Vemula LetterAnd Ambedkarite attracts the poetry of poet NK Hanumanthay. “Set in a contemporary setup, it is the story of three Dalit characters from a village who works in Bengaluru. Apart from Bob, who works at one time, is a woman who teaches English and a stand-up comedian. These are the people who have risen above their immediate environment and social level, but are still conscious of their caste and food culture, ”he says.
Akshay Singh Thakur Swang: Jus Toss A Bundelkhand shows life in the village. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Akshay Singh Thakur Swang: Jus Toss A Bundelkhand shows life in the village that is struggling to come up with a freak feudal God. The story of Vijayadan Deetha, based on Thakur’s Ruthna, becomes a metaphor for the disorganized policies of those people in power. “In the story, Thakur orders the wells to fill the soil so that the water comes up. Villagers know that this is a foolish idea, but they cannot go against the wishes of an elderly, which they have been air -conditioned for worshiping like a God, ”is called Akshay Singh Thakur, a young theater practitioner from Jabalpur, which has been a incubation center of fresh voices in the theater.
Akshay Singh Takur’s folk game Sleep In power, they become a metaphor for the policies made by those people. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Bundelkhandi farce (or song) is an endangered traditional folk dance-theater form that uses entertainment as a disguise to show mirrors to society. Says Thakur, “It uses songs, dances and caricaturish characters to make its point,” saying that the form is now being revived.
Sapan Saran Dear Quir is the discovery of love. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Music, dance and sound art take shapes developed in Sapan Saran DearQuir love discovery, and Abhi Tambe Portal waitingThe depiction of the discovery of humanity for freedom was told through a conversation between a Siborg and the last person on Earth.
Finding their voice in small centers, reflected on theater, playwright Ashish Pathak, whose Forecast Four Meta Awards say that the economics of cities lend itself to a deep understanding of crafts. “In large cities, the cost of hiring places for practice is being punished. In centers like Jabalpur, people sometimes give place with love. Most budding actors prefer to play parts that reflect their position in their language when jumping back of an star in an OTT series, ”expands Ashish.
Unlike the past, when the playwright and the theater group did not cooperate at the time of construction, these days, the playwright lives with the repellers. “He takes into account the actor’s demands and desires and visual structure that the director can make on stage. The playwrights trusted the poem to shorten the dialogues, “Ashish says,” The meaning of a music is no longer limited to songs. Sewing machine or tap water sound can also create a music. ,
Renowned theater scholar Bishanupriya Dutt, who has seen the meta becoming an important signPost of the theater calendar, says that the theater is unavoidable, as it is a live, peepal-to-peepal and body-to-body performance. “It is an effectiveness that is not in any other art form. Meta has not shouted from presenting dramas that take a socio-political situation. It works in a way that allows the autonomy of the theater practice, ”is the conclusion of Bishanupriya.
(Meta -2025 is at Kamani Auditorium and Shri Ram Center in New Delhi till 19 March.)
Published – March 13, 2025 07:52 pm IST
