A crew comprising actors and directors from the Mandala Theatre Nepal has embarked on a 15-day long tour, tagged Smriti Ka Lagi Ghumti Rangamanch Bhraman (Mobile theatre for memory), to the western Nepal. The team will, over the coming weeks, perform the play Aadha Satya at select venues in districts such as Bardiya, Dang and Kailali, on the mobile theatre Junkiree.

Junkiree, Nepal’s first mobile theatre, was introduced last year; during the aftermath of the quakes, the team from the Mandala Theatre travelled to the outskirts of the Valley and staged the play Manchinte Firante, in an effort to add to the resilience of quake survivors.  With the upcoming tour, the team aims to draw light to yet another social issue: justice for the family of the disappeared.

“With this tour we aim to draw light to the woes the families of those who disappeared during the 10-year long Maoist insurgency are reeling under,” said Rajan Khatiwada, creative director of the Theatre, who will be leading the travelling ensemble. “We aim to draw attention of the concerned authorities towards this issue,” Khatiwada added.

Aadha Satya portrays the woes suffered by the families of the disappeared. Based on true stories, the play revolves around the bitter experiences the families of the disappeared have had to endure in loss of their beloved. The play is written jointly by Rajan Khatiwada and Sijan Dahal and is directed by Khatiwada.

The upcoming tour is a continuation of the Theatre’s endeavour to seek justice for the family of those who disappeared during the 10-long year Maoist insurgency. Last month, on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared, the Theatre organised a function that saw musical performances and the staging of the drama Aadha Satya in an effort to provide solace to the family of the disappeared.

“We are travelling to the districts where the case is the most severe,” informed Somnath Khanal, coordinator of the tour. “Interviewing the families of the disappeared whose woes have been presented in the play, we were touched and were aware how hard it is to endure such a pain. Our main aim is to nudge the government to make public aware of the current status of those who have disappeared.”

Khanal also informed that the Theatre will also be travelling to the Eastern Nepal in cities such as Dharan, Itahari, Biratnagar, Belbari and Damak, come October.

The upcoming tour will start with the staging of the play in Gulariya, Bardiya on September 22 and will draw to a close with the staging in Tulsipur, Dang on October 2.