Banita, a play put together by the students from Lok Aadarsha Academy which brought to stage a story of the sexual harassment inflicted upon children, bagged the Bal Koseli Best Play award at the ninth National Children’s Theatre Festival, which concluded on Wednesday with the award distribution ceremony at the festival venue in Russian Centre of Science and Culture in the Capital. For the same play, child actor Sadikshya Bhatta bagged the Late Hem Bogati Best Actor Award.

Milan Budathoki won the Reshmi Prasad Sapkota Best Actor award for the play Astitto; put together by the student-actors from Mahendra Aadarsha School, the play revolved around a story centred on child labour.

Furthermore, Jeevan Baral won the Chitra Bahadur Budhathoki Best Director Award for the play Jhyauli, which told a story of children working in a brick factory. While Pratik Tripaati won the Late Reshmi Prasad Sapkota Emerging Actor Award for the play Tulsi, which brought to stage a story about child marriage. Nirbhik Bhattarai won the Anton Chekhov Public Choice Award for the play Aaula, which was about proper parenting and schooling in today’s rapidly-evolving world.

The plays were judged by a panel of jury comprising actors Pashupati Rai and Rambabu Regmi.

Speaking at the ceremony, president of Shailee Theatre—which organised the fest in collaboration with the Russian Centre for Science and Culture—said that the organisers aim to stage more plays in the coming years.

The fest this year saw the staging of 14 plays, selected out of 35 submissions.