Cultural Organisations

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The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) had organised a cultural program in the beautiful lawns of the Bangalore Fort on April 18th, the World Heritage Day.   It was an evening affair. Though it was the usual busy traffic outside, the atmosphere inside the Fort was surreal. The invitees were soon absorbed in the colourful photo exhibition ‘Portraits of Bangalore', compiled by Bangalore Weekend Shoots (BWS), a group of photography enthusiasts. The collection was later released as postcards.   The function had many visitors - both young and old - spread out on the green lawns…

I was at RV Dental College at JP Nagar, looking for Maltesh Badiger, a theatre director and set desginer. Badiger had offered to loan me whatever I needed from his vast collection of theatre sets, for a play I was helping out with. Badiger, a small simple man walked in. I explained what I needed and he opened up a small room in the basement. It was full of set pieces - doors, thrones, backdrops and more. He told me to choose, and I was lost. He had a solution to create any set I wanted!. When he learnt that…

Since I was not sure if I would be able to go to the plays tomorrow, I decided to attend the press conference that was organized by India Foundation for the Arts (for which the plays are a fund-raiser).I wanted to hear what the actors who are going to be staging the playlets would have to say about the plays, which they have staged before, in Bangalore, way back in 2002.Both Ratna and Naseeruddin talked about how contemporary they found Ismat's ideas, and how Naseeruddin was inspired to stage her stories. Naseeruddin was very scornful about large production; " I despise…

B.Jayashree's "Sadarame", which opened to great acclaim at the recent Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival 2008, is scheduled to be staged at Ranga Shankara this December. "Sadarame" will be performed from 10th - 13th December at 7.30 PM. (Pic: Akshay Narayan)Produced by Ranga Shankara under its "Play the Play" initiative, "Sadarame" is a revival of one of Gubbi Veeranna's most successful productions. "Sadarame" is directed by the renowned B.Jayashree, who is the granddaughter of legendary Veeranna.A play, rich in navarasa, "Sadarame" is replete with unforgettable characters: the ingenious Sadarame, the trickster Kalla, the innocent Jayaveera, the mean Bangaru Shreshti and the…

The cessation of the heavy monsoon rains seemed to herald a smooth run for the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival. Bright sunshine greeted us as we walked to Ranga Shankara on 31st October, the first day of the Festival, as we ordered some of Anju's delicious snacks and took a leisurely turn around the foyer, taking in the beautiful decorations, and the priceless photographs from the Company Theatre era, the period between the 19th century to mid 20th century. The opening play Nati Binodini dealt with one of the stars of that era, and her fearless expose of the exploitation women…

Ranga Shankara is organising a seminar on Company Theatre at 6 pm on 3rd November as part of the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival '08, which pays tribute to this golden era of Indian theatre.Speakers at the seminar include,Amal Allana, renowned director and Chairperson of the National School of Drama, who will speak on gender impersonation in Company Nataka and reflect on the phenomenon in her own plays.Nissar Allana, renowned stage designer and author of Painted Scenaries: Backdrops of the 19th Century Marathi Sangeet Natak, who will speak on the subject of his book, the sceneries of the Marathi stageProf. Ramakrishna…

The Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival '08 will include the second edition of its very successful Theatre and Arts Appreciation Course, designed on the lines of the well-known culture course at Neenasam, Heggodu.The course, launched at the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival '07, provides a unique opportunity to learn the essence of theatre and arts appreciation by developing new ways "seeing and listening". Last year's course was a resounding success, with participants from various walks of life – from students to professors, software professionals to bankers - participating enthusiastically in the highly interactive sessions. The likes of Satyadev Dubey, Girish Karnad, UR…

I first noticed Dramanon when they put up a foyer performance at Ranga Shankara, and later watched two of their productions: ‘The Original Last Wish Baby’ and later, ‘Pizzazz’. I found Sharanya Ramprakash, the present "chief" of Dramanon, and her team of thespians to be a committed, sincere young theatre group, battling financial odds to stay in theatre. The group was established in Bangalore in 2007, with a group of youngsters who studied in Manipal. Dramanon has staged around 20 productions till date and has staged four shows of ‘The Original Last Wish Baby’, a political satire, at both Alliance…

rafiki is a theatre group from Bangalore. Established in 1998, it comprises a group of youngsters working in the fields of theatre, with particular focus on socio-economically backward street and working children in the age group of 7 to 14 years. Woyzeck is a German play written by Georg Buechner set in Prussia in the 1830s. I had watched one version of Woyzeck staged by Koothu-p-Pattarai of Chennai, at Ranga Shankara, sometime ago. When I realised that rafiki was staging it at Ranga Shankara, I was compelled to watch the new performance too. I was very glad I went. The…