Adishakti, a contemporary theatre research and repertory company near Puducherry, Tamil Nadu is all set to launch the sixth edition of the Remembering Veenapani festival and celebrate its 40th anniversary.
The month-long cultural festival commemorates Veenapani Chawla, the founder of Adishakti and one of the pioneers of experimental theatre in India. It starts on the late artiste’s birth anniversary, April 5, and will go on till May 3.
Throughout the month, the festival will see several performances such as Bhoomi, a play directed by Vinay Kumar; Rio, a clown show by the theatre company Amares Teatro; Nothing Like Lear, a play adapted and directed by actor Rajat Kapoor and performed by actor Vinay Pathak, among many others.
Established by Veenapani in 1981 as a theatre company in erstwhile Bombay, Adishakti has nurtured several artists who now work across different film industries, says present artistic director Vinay Kumar. Along with Arvind Rane and Nimmy Raphael, he was among Veenapani’s early disciples.
According to the website, after Veenapani’s demise in 2014, Adishakti began to celebrate the Remembering Veenapani Festival every year, from 2015 onwards. During the festival, the company opens its doors to performances of varied sorts from music and dance to theatre. Adishakti has also extended its space to several residential programs, workshops, and performances that are conducted by artists from around the world.
“All the performers at the festival are worthy of highlight, according to me,” says Kumar. “We don’t bracket art and thus, we did not select anyone, we requested artists to come and perform. The initial planning of the festival started with only five performances, but now we are at 20.”
The festival will not only feature plays but also music, with performances from home bands like Just Sisters and Gowwli, as well as a Carnatic concert by Sanjay Subrahmanyam. There will be dance performances too by the likes of Usha Nangiar.
The complete schedule of the Remembering Veenapani Festival is as follows:
Home Shows
5th April – Nidravathwam by Nimmy Raphel (Adishakti), Pondichery
6th April – Brhannala by Late Veenapani Chawla (Adishakti), Pondicherry
7th April – Bhoomi by Vinay Kumar (Adishakti), Pondicherry
8th April – Thullal Trayyam by Suresh Kaliyath, Thrissur
9th April – Mandodari Nirvahanam by Usha Nangiar, Thrissur
Guest Shows
20th April – Gowwli – A folk rock experimental band
21st April – Favourite Things by Malavika PC, Bangalore
22nd April- Rio – A clown show by Amares Teatro, Uruguay
Recommended
23rd April – Just Sisters – vocal jazz & blues band, Auroville
24th April – Shurpanaki – An experimental Yakshakana & Odissi piece, Bangalore
25th April – Sandippu – A performance by Kattaikuttu Sangam, Kanchipuram
26th April – Kutti Ilavarasan – An Adaptation of The Little Prince in Tamil, Chennai
27th April – Nothing Like Lear by Rajat Kapoor & Vinay Pathak, Mumbai
28th April – A Carnatic Concert by Sanjay Subramanyan, Chennai
29th April – Elephant in The Room by Yuki Elias, Mumbai
30th April – The Threshold – Music concert by Bindhumalini & Pallavi MD, Bangalore
1st May – Desdemona Roopakam by Abhishek Majumbdar, Bangalore
2nd May – Look for Me in The Stars by 20M: Konarak Reddy & Roberto Naraian, Bangalore