The city’s theatre circuit is bustling with activity thanks to the entry of one of the biggest short play festivals in the world, Short + Sweet, into Hyderabad for the first time.
Festival director Anita Mithra says the response has been good. “We have a total of 25 plays being staged at the first edition of Short + Sweet Hyderabad. Interestingly, several entries have come in from theatre groups in Bengaluru and Chennai,” she points out.
City artiste Suzanne Patel is not only acting and directing, she’s also helping Anitha with the logistics in the city. “Of the 25 plays being staged, 16 are by city groups and the rest from outstation. This is the first time that the city is witnessing outside performers in such numbers,” she notes. Suzanne is acting in the play titled Present, along with her colleague Atul Rastogi from their group Kadak Chaai. She has also directed a play written by another short play star Ankit Bakshi.
“The format allows you to participate as a writer, director or actor. So you can work on two plays as a director and one as an actor and so on,” Ankit informs. “It takes at least 10 to 15 years to become a play writer or director. But festivals like these, which focus on shorter scripts, open up new doors of opportunity,” he points out.
First-timer Pranav Tembur-nikar who presents Love story at the festival is nervous. “This is all completely new for me. I haven’t even attended workshops before,” he admits. Nevertheless, it is the part-time theatre artistes like Pranav who make the most of the fest, which encourages original scripts.
While the competition is bound to be fierce, the groups maintain that it’s not all about winning. Winners of the Bengaluru edition last year, city group Dramanon’s Ramakrishna Shenoy insists, “For us, it’s a theatre event and we want to be a part of it. Winning is not so important, although I wish there were more local groups involved.”
