The Mandala Alumni Drama Festival (MADFest) 2024, organised by former students of the Theatre, has begun. The festival was inaugurated with the play Railway to Nowhere, directed by Samyog Guragain.

Anup Neupane, the director of MADFest, said, “It started as just an idea. Once everyone joined in, the festival became possible. The festival’s name is ‘Mad’, which reflects a kind of madness for art and creation. We started this festival to create opportunities for ourselves,” Neupane said.

Actress Pashupati Sharma, at the event, encouraged young theatre artists to continue with such festivals.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol, who chaired the event, highlighted the presence of theatre culture in Kathmandu. She expressed her support for the continuation of ‘MADFest’.

“Kathmandu has a close relationship with theatre. There have always been plays in Kathmandu's public squares. Festivals like this should keep happening,” she said.

“The Kathmandu Metropolitan City is always ready to collaborate on such festivals,” Dangol added.

Teknath Parajuli, affectionately called “Mama”, has served food and tea to many Mandala artists for years and was honoured as a guest at the event. He was happy to be part of a festival organised by the artists he once served. “The young ones who used to eat at my place have grown up and are now organising such a big event,” he recalled.

Theatre artist Kedar Shrestha acknowledged Mama’s contribution to Mandala’s artists, noting that Mama always fed them during their struggles, even when they couldn’t pay immediately.

The festival, running from July 5-7, will feature six plays. Along with ‘Railway to Nowhere’, there will be ‘Mirror’ directed by Sushan Basnet, ‘Shilpini’ by Bedana Rai, ‘Nugdha’ by Bijay Tamang, ‘Aagam’ by Pritisha Adhikari, and ‘Ankuran’ by Sagar Karki.