Miscellaneous
Youthful theatrics
As Pathshala concludes its annual College Theatre Festival, we take a look at how Nepali theatre’s renaissance is invigorating the youthGaurav Pote
In 2011, Pathshala Theatre Group initiated the annual College Theatre Festival in Kathmandu. Since then, it has seen an increasing number of young college-goers fervently participate in its annual theatre ensemble. For some it has become a ritual of sorts, a ritual in which they are actually investing substantial time from their otherwise busy academic schedules. Staging original plays in this year’s theatre festival were troupes from six different colleges, attracting a wide array of audiences, from fellow students to theatre enthusiasts.
Plays are live and stirring illustrations of our stories, and in a way, our own reflections projected back at us. Long before, YouTube, and television before that, theatre was the only platform for actors to showcase their art, and drama was the one of the few ways to entertain, as well as, aware the public. They have always portrayed relevant social issues, with the characters responding to them on stage. At a time when television and the internet shape our minds, plays, with their special enigma, have become more relevant and necessary.
This has been the objective of Pathshala all along with its emphasis on young collegians. For long, the group had sensed that young enthusiasts of theatre arts lacked a common space to hone their skills and perform plays. So, in a bid to create a stable platform for young actors to follow their passion, Pathshala introduced College Theatre Festival to Kathmandu. The group also realised just how little about the theatre arts was talked about in schools and colleges. With parents and teachers relentlessly nudging students further into the academics, it was very likely that a significant number of the Nepali youth would forgo the opportunity to taste contemporary Nepali plays. Hence, the group sought to spark interest among young college students, and provide them a platform to discuss and experience Nepali theatre. The festival primarily aims to promote potential young theatre artists, while reviving the theatre culture among younger audiences.
It might definitely be a wait before we can get a proper taste of art at the festival, but that is not to say that the plays are getting any less serious or contextual every year.
The participants, this year, came from some of prestigious colleges—RR Campus, Kathmandu University School Of Management (KUSOM), Nepal College of Management (NCM), Golden Gate International College, K and K International College, and Acme Engineering College, and their plays portrayed long confronting social woes like human trafficking, women empowerment, and other youth-related issues.
With equal participation from girls and boy (there are three female directors and three male), the platform acts as an encouraging tool to mature talent with equal oppurtunities. To make the event more interesting, Pathshala has turned it into a competition whereby the best drama and the best performer get Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 cash prize respectively.
If you still wish to catch the last remaining plays of the festival, they’ll be staged today at the Shilpee Theatre at 1 pm and 4 pm. It’s either that or you wait till next year.