Today, the 17th of October, Ranga Shankara organized a press conference to talk about the upcoming Theatre Festival, which will run from 31st October to 9th November 2008. There will be plays, documentaries, solo performances by veteran thespians, and two plays specially commissioned by Ranga Shankara, along with Vodafone.
The presentation was as well executed as any theatre production, with veterans like Paramashivanna and Jayashree rendering beautiful songs.
The Golden Era of Kannada theatre was aptly evoked:
Both Arundhati Nag and Girish Karnad who are directors of the Sanket Trust, spoke to the reporters, and harked back to the age when Kannada theatre was a vibrant entity. Here they are, with the Vodafone CEO, Mr K Sankara Narayanan:
They said that this year, Ranga Shankara would pay tribute to the Company Theatre, which dominated the Indian stage in the early part of the 20th century.
The Press crowded around for sound bites from Aru:
With the media coverage, the Theatre Festival looks set to be another major landmark in the theatre scene of Bangalore. ⊕
Rangashankara must be complimented for doing the impossible possible.While there were times both company drama vs ameture dramas were cometeting to claim supremecy, I am pleasantly surprised by the complementary role played. After all it is the artistes who are life blood of any theatre and paying tribute to the company theatre, who were the only entratainment available in the remotest part of the state desrves to be recognised and nurtured.Arundhati Nag in particular dereves all the credit along with other directos particulary Girish Karnad. KEEP IT ARUNDHATI