Two months after Theatre Mall temporarily drew its curtains at Kathmandu Mall, raising concerns about the trajectory of Nepali theatre among artists and theatregoers alike, the drama institute has swiftly moved into its new ‘temporary’ location in Rabibhawan in the Capital.

To mark the unveiling of its new location, the theatre on Monday organised a different kind of show, a poetry recital programme titled Poetry Pottery.

“Theatre artists like to read and listen to poetry. Many among us even write or try to write verses. So this is an event purely dedicated to listening to their poetry, showcasing a different side to their artistic endeavours,” the organisers have said.

In line with which, the event drew a total of 30 theatre artists who recited their poetry.

The event also invited three of Nepal’s prominent poets—Lakshmi Mali, Viplob Pratik, and Sneh Sayami—who partook in the poetry session with the artists.

Speaking at the event, guest poets echoed, “Even though they are theatre artists first, their poetry brims with socio-political messages, while keeping the feel and style of poetry intact.” While poet Sayami jokingly said, “Now after listening to the creation of these theatre-artists-cum-poets, it is high time professional poets level-up on their craft.”

Among those reciting poetry were directors and actors such as Kamal Mani Nepal, Bhola Raj Sapkota, Sarita Giri, Kedar Shrestha, Som Nath Khanal, Raj Shah, Ankit Khadka, Ram KAC, and Laxmi Bardewa, among others.

Speaking to the Post, Kedar Shrestha, the artistic director of Theatre Mall, said, “We have for the time being moved into this very temporary location, while we scout out other places that could serve as Theatre Mall’s new home.”

According to Shrestha, because the space at the Rabibhawan location is limited, it will not host the staging of full-act plays and will instead serve as a rendezvous space for artists and theatregoers alike—brought together by events such as Poetry Pottery.

“We have been looking at a new permanent location, but as you know it is not easy finding space where you can house a stage and hundrends of audiences at the same time,” Shrestha said, “But to our advantage, because we are called the ‘Theatre Mall’, we are in conversation with different shopping malls in the Capital about moving to their premises.”

Theatre Mall hopes to move into its new permanent location and begin plays after Dashain this year.

This was the first edition of Poetry Pottery and Theatre Mall announced that they plan to conduct the recital on a regular basis in the coming days. The next episode of the recital is titled “Poetry Pottery: Bhuin Manchhe ka Kabita.”