The 11th National Theatre Festival CANFEST — 2014, organised by theatre outfit CANMASS under the chairmanship of its president Capt AK Mohapatra, kicked off at Paradip on Wednesday.
The seven-day fest was inaugurated by Paradip Port Trust (PPT) Chairman Sudhanshu Sekhara Mishra, who spoke about the impact of drama on the society. He pledged to extend all types of support to the festival.
Noted Odia playwright Dr Ramesh Chandra Panigrahi, eminent Bengali director Bivas Chakravorty, Odia film and drama artists Ajit Das, Hara Pattnaik and Zee-Kalinga chief Arjya Pattnaik attended as guests.
Some of Panigrahi’s plays are going to be staged by different troupes in different languages during the next six-day extravaganza. On the first evening, the artists of Ajit, Bhubaneswar, staged play Kamalpura Dakaghar under the direction of Ajit Das. The play presented ironically post-colonial discourse on theft, corruption and criminality. In a corrupt democratic system, the playwright dissolves the distinction between surface and depth to show wherever this distinction arises, it is the evidence of the play of organised “evil power” that hides its operations and fosters the victory of the evil.
On the occasion, Das was honoured with life time achievement award and local artist Chittaranjan Bhatt was also honoured.
On the second evening, the Rourkela troupe Rangamancha will stage Sesha Pahacha under the direction of Kailash Panigrahi. The drama festival will end on March 24.