Amaravati Theatre Festival to entertain enthusiasts from November 24

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Tourism department will host the first Amaravati Theatre Festival in the city. The multilingual festival will be organised in Vijayawada from Nov. 24 to 26, 2017 and artistes from different places in the state will enthrall the theatre enthusiasts with their performance. The festival will be formally inaugurated at 11 am at the Tumalapalli Kshetraiah Kalakshetram Auditorium in the city on Nov. 24. This will be followed by presentation of the mythological play, Sri Krishna Rayabaram.  The inaugural ceremony will be attended by living legends of theatre -- Kota Srinivasa Rao, Kota Sankara Rao and S.K. Misro.

The festival will be held at  Tumalapalli Kalakshetram, Kaladar-shini and Siddhartha Academy, and nine plays to be enacted at these venues over the three days. The plays include ‘Ghumayi’ directed by Padmashri Balwant Thakur ‘Mukoon’ directed by Chandrashekhar, ‘CharandasChor’ originally directed by notable playwright and poet Late Habib Tanvir,  ‘Mask’ scripted by Dr P.V. Rama Kumar, Karnabharam’ by Padmabhushan Kavalam Narayana Panikkar,  ‘Barrister Parvatheesam’  by Shiva Prasad Tumu, ‘Swachham Shivam Sundaram’ by Chowdary.

Speaking about the Festival, Himanshu Shukla, CEO, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority, said: “We are excited to host a one-of-its-kind theatre festival that draws some of the best artistes to put together a riveting series of plays in Vijayawada.  “Through this event, we want to promote our rich cultural heritage and provide world-class entertainment for all theatre fans. This will be an annual carnival where enthusiasts can come and enjoy their favourite theatre art and relive the heritage of AP’s acclaimed culture.'' Vijay Bhaskar CEO, AP Creativity and Culture Commission, added, “The Amaravati Theatre Festival is a stepping stone to what we envisage as the starting point of bringing to life the culture of the state through the display of fine art.