Entertainment
Theatre on the rise in Pokhara
Since the establishment of Gandharva Theatre in March 2018, Pokhara’s theatre scene is gaining momentum. The 200-seat hall located at Gaihrapatan has been staging plays regularly, following the screening of Sirumarani. Written by Sarubhakta and directed by Rajan Khatiwada, Sirumarani featured local actors Maotse Gurung and Prakash Ghimire who made a comeback on stage after a long interval.Since the establishment of Gandharva Theatre in March 2018, Pokhara’s theatre scene is gaining momentum. The 200-seat hall located at Gaihrapatan has been staging plays regularly, following the screening of Sirumarani. Written by Sarubhakta and directed by Rajan Khatiwada, Sirumarani featured local actors Maotse Gurung and Prakash Ghimire who made a comeback on stage after a long interval.
After Sirumarani, plays Jiundo Aakash and Biteka Kura were staged in the following months. In early July, play Kurup Hans, which was directed by Nazir Hussain and saw a steady run in Kathmandu, moved to Pokhara as well. And most recently, the play Atalbahadurko Atanka, which was written and directed by Khagendra Lamichanne, was on stage from July 23 to August 2.
Gandharva was built through the joint effort of artists Pariwartan Karki, Dilu Gurung, and Shankarnath Koirala who managed to raise about eight million rupees for the project. Pariwartan Karki shares that the vision of opening the theatre and promoting performance arts in the Lake City took about three years to come to fruition. “Recently, the turnover of audience has become enthusiastic,” says Karki, “But we are equally struggling with problems ranging from the lack of practice to budgetary constraints.”
Chancellor of the Nepal Academy of Music and Drama Sarubhakta shares that the initial response from Pokhara’s theatregoers has been encouraging. “It now depends upon whether we will be able to continue with the same spirit,” he says, “I see the potential of three more quality theatres in Pokhara.”