A national-level theatre festival which will host the staging of plays put together by budding theatre artists—National Children’s Theatre Festival—will take place in Kathmandu in February, the organisers announced on Tuesday.

According to Nabaraj Budhathoki, president of organisers Shailee Theatre, the plays to be staged will be based on issues pertaining to the emotional development and creative growth of children. “The festival is organised with an aim to provide a platform for children to expose and hone their creative skills, while also exploring the issues they are touched by,” Budhathoki said.

Announcing the festival, the organisers also called for submissions for plays.

“The submitted plays should run for no longer than an hour and the content and language of the plays should not exert a negative effect on children’s psychology,” reads a press note issued by the organisers. The selected plays will be honoured under different categories.

The festival will host the staging of a dozen of the plays.

Alongside stagings, the upcoming edition—the fest’s ninth—will also feature children-friendly games, storytelling platforms, and magic shows. “We are aiming for a festival that will help for a holistic creative development of the children,” Sapana Sanjeevani, vice-president at Shailee, said.

The weeklong festival will take place at Russian Culture Centre, in Kamalpokhari, sometime in mid-February.