Hyderabad's Second International Children's Theatre Festival Enters Final Stretch

Hyderabad:Hyderabad’s second International Children’s Theatre Festival entered its final stretch at Ravindra Bharathi after a larger edition with government school students, private schoolchildren and visiting internarional theatre teams on the same stage, even as organisers worked through funding gaps, visa delays and a cancelled day in the schedule.

The festival, organised by Nishumbita School of Drama in collaboration with the language and culture department, returned this year after its first edition in April last year. The 2026 edition was planned for four days, but one day was cancelled and the programme had to be rescheduled. Around 27 performances were packed into three days.

Dr Ram Mohan Holagundi, founder-director of Nishumbita School of Drama, explained: “Last year it was on a shorter form, but this time we have almost around 27 performances in a span of three days.”

The festival has seen participation from teams in Japan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, along with groups from Kolkata, Delhi and Hyderabad. Dr Holagundi said Mexico and Russia were also part of the plan, but could not make it because of war-related issues and visa delays.

Local participants included Nasr School, St Peter’s, Sri Aurobindo International School, Vasavi Public School, Government High School, Rasoolpura, Smiles Home for Girls and Andhra Mahila Sabha government school. Plays and performances ranged from Tenali Rama and Julius Caesar to a Telugu version of Macbeth, environment-themed work, mime, GRIPS theatre, experimental theatre, physical theatre and puppetry.

“These are schools which have raw talent. We are trying to give our best to them so that they come on stage with a platform on the same level as international teams,” Dr Holagundi said.

He praised the mime performance ‘Let Her Fly’ by girls from Government High School, Rasoolpura and called it amazing.

Dr Holagundi said the idea behind the festival was to let children see different forms of theatre and learn from performers across languages and countries. “People say theatre is dying. There is nothing like that. I do not believe in that,” he said. “We want to adapt to the present scenario, to the experimental version of theatre, and make the younger generation aware of how strong and powerful the medium of theatre is.”

Planning began around December, about seven to eight months before the festival. “The financial aid is zero. We had to fight through everything, literally fight through struggle and challenge,” Dr Holagundi said. “No sponsors, nothing. Zero sponsors. We are pitching in with our own funds, with our own hard-earned money, because we want theatre to grow.”

He said support from the Telangana Sangeetha Nataka Akademi and the department of language and culture helped the festival get the venue. He also credited Nishumbita’s young team, parents and volunteers. “My team of youngsters are the heart and soul,” he said.

Shatanik, a Class XII student of Nishumbita School of Drama, said he had taken part in the festival last year too, but this year felt larger and harder to manage. “Last year it was on a small scale, but this year it is on a larger scale,” he said. “Last year it was comparatively easy because there was more workforce. This year there was less manpower, and we had to run around more.”

He said theatre had changed the way children worked with one another. “Theatre is very impactful in one’s life because it develops character and shows you how to be in life,” he said. “It gives great bonding to the team and shows your team spirit, how good you are in a team rather than as an individual.”