A five-day State level theatre festival ended on September 30 last at Paradip. It was organised by the State Culture Department and Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi in collaboration with the Paradip Port Trust and socio-cultural platform Canmass.
On the valedictory function, the play 'Chandrama Ra Chudi' based on a popular poem of Ramakanta Rath, was presented by Canmass. It was directed by Sriman N Mishra. The play unfolds the life story of a street prostitute who accepts prostitution as her only alternative to live on after the demise of her sick husband.
The director interprets the play with the help of presentational behavior of suggestive realism, symbolism and demonstration projecting the irony of the social existence of a prostitute activating satire as its undertone. The innovative staging of a popular poem enchanted the gallery as a new expose to theatrical reality.
The stage performance of the actors of Canmass, especially by lead actress Jayashree Mishra in the role of Chandrama, enthralled the audience. Theatre groups Natya Chettana and Uttara Purusha from Bhubaneswar, Rageshree Nilayam from Nayagarh, and Swosti Jhankar from Rourkela also participated in the festival with their glorious productions.
The event culminated in the gracious presence of chief guest Excise Minister and local MlA Damodar Rout, poet Ramakanta Rath as guest of honour, Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi secretary Dhirendra Nath Mallick and Canmass president Capt Atulya Kumar Mohapatra.