“The most boring session is going to be the inaugural ceremony during this three-day festival. In a cultural program, speeches after speeches can only be enjoyed under the compulsion, otherwise it is not possible.“Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh‘s comment before beginning his address to the audience at the BRICS theatre festival on Monday at the National School of Drama (NSD) drew chuckles from the crowd. The stage was set, speeches followed and a lamp was lit to mark the opening of the festival, but the main idea of the event was what theatre could convey beyond words.
Young NSD students sounding off the conch shells
Drums and conch shells sounded as the welcome ceremony began, with the young performers of NSD dressed in matching white dhotis and turbans. Delegates and artistes from nine countries gathered to celebrate theatre under the theme ‘Shared Stories, Shared Futures.’“A mother’s grief is recognisable across languages, the courage to confront injustice resonates across political systems, and the vulnerability of love speaks to something universal in the human experience,” Singh said. “We may not understand every word spoken on the stage, yet we can understand every gesture.”Beyond the performance“We have had a shared past, shared present. There can’t be a better way to express that than through theatre,” said Vivek Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, explaining the thinking behind the festival’s theme, Shared Stories, Shared Futures.Agarwal said the organisers “wanted the access to be democratised,” which is why they began selling passes 20 days before the opening day, adding that the shows were already housefull.
Yulia Aryaeva, Cultural attaché from Russian Embassy
“These performances will offer a diverse expression, and those differences will become an opportunity to learn more about each other’s cultures,” he added.For Sudhakar Dalela, BRICS Sherpa, theatre’s ability to bring human experiences to the stage gives the festival’s theme particular meaning.Learning from one anotherFor Gajendra Singh, the gathering was about more than just the arts. “Culture creates connections that transcend political boundaries,” he said, adding that shared experiences of theatre could foster understanding and trust.That exchange was already taking place among artistes. Milu, a South African actor involved in the play Someone, shared what she hoped the audiences could take away from her play — “It’s okay to let go, it’s okay to let go to find yourself first.”— Anvita Singh
