The Nepal International Theatre Festival 2019 kicked off in Kathmandu with a number of veteran artists felicitated by the Prime Minister for their contributions to Nepali theatre. Pictured in the photo above are (from left to right) Sunil Mishra, Subhadra Adhikari, Shakuntala Sharma Gurung, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Sabine Lehmann (kneeling), Satya Mohan Joshi, Ashesh Malla, Prachanda Malla, Abhi Subedi and Suryamala Sharma. To the right is a glimpse of artists from the Karnali Art Centre in Mugu performing at the opening at Mandala Theatre in Anamnagar. The festival, which will see the staging of 30 national and international plays, is taking place at five theatres across the Valley, from February 25 to March 4. Along with plays, the festival will be hosting a number of discussion programmes and performance art. It is being jointly organised by seven active theatre groups—Mandala Theatre Nepal, Shilpee Theatre, Actors’ Studio, Theatre Village, Theatre Mall, Katha Ghera and One World Theatre. The festival is “a celebration of art, culture, traditions in the form of theatre performances” that “incorporate(s) the aesthetics of jatra, poetry, and the landmarks of Nepali rangamanch,” say the organisers.  

a glimpse of artists from the Karnali Art Centre in Mugu performing at the opening at Mandala Theatre in Anamnagar. Photo: Keshav Thapa.

Photos & text : Keshav Thapa