Considering Delhi is known for its flair for drama and histrionics, it makes sense that we have our own college theatre festival. The Old World Collegiate Theatre is an annual tradition and this edition features a fresh set of plays, both originals and adaptations, from all the active drama societies of Delhi University.
A brainchild of Keval Arora, who is also the staff adviser for the dramatics society at Kirori Mal College, the festival is now in its 15th year. It’s interesting to know that Keval was part of the college’s drama society, The Players, before joining the college as faculty and taking charge of the budding performers and playwrights. In the words of the man himself, this fest is “a special, if not unique, event in the collegiate theatre calendar because it is more enabling and congenial as compared to the environments in which college theatre groups usually perform”.
WHAT IS IT
Since it’s not a competition, each group gets an opportunity to present two back-to-back shows at the same venue, which allows them to tweak their second performance based on the experience of their first. They are also granted a fair degree of control of the performance environment and given extensive feedback from their assigned mentor.
The participating plays created by student bodies are previewed live by the selection committee and shortlisted based on the novelty of the scripts – challenges posed and the manner in which these are negotiated in the script, whether its fresh writing or an adaptation of existing material – acting and design skills; the quality of engagement with contemporary issues; and finally, ensuring the plays are a mix of what’s on offer at the college level in terms of language, style, tone, and range.
WHAT TO EXPECT
This year’s line-up features eight plays, which will be staged at India Habitat Centre’s amphitheatre in the last week of February. We are especially excited about Snoop Dog by St. Stephen’s Shakespeare Society, Syaahi by Vayam of Shivaji College, Art by Fourth Wall Productions of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, and Uncivilised Daughters by Abhivakti of Maitreyi College, but don’t let our preferences cloud your judgement. Here’s what Keval has to say about each play.
Run For Your Wife: Sangharsh, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College
A comic farce concerning a man with a secret double life, and an ill-timed accident that threatens to bring the façade crashing down.
When: February 20th and 22nd
Timings: 7 pm
Snoop Dog: Shakespeare Society, St. Stephen’s College
A rumbustious satire, it is political commentary neatly camouflaged by the fun and games that dominate the performance. Echoes of Manto’s story, The Dog of Tetwal, are not coincidental.
When: February 20th and 22nd
Timings: 8 pm
Deluxe Hair Cutting Saloon: Shunya, Ramjas College
A delicately flavoured look at small lives caught up in the trivial rhythms of the everyday.
When: February 21st and 23rd
Timings: 7 pm
Syaahi: Vayam, Shivaji College
An interweaving of three well-known plays by one of India’s foremost modern dramatists, Vijay Tendulkar, through a central metaphor that allows us to revisit each of them afresh.
When: February 21st and 23rd
Timings: 8.15 pm
Art: Fourth Wall Productions, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies
A witty comedy about art and its pretensions, and friendship and its failures. And caught in the middle is a priceless canvas.
When: February 24th and 25th
Timings: 7 pm
Veronica’s Room: Verbum, Sri Venkateswara College
A tale with so many layers that it takes the ‘who’ in the ‘whodunit’ to a completely new level.
When: February 24th and 25th
Timings: 8.15 pm
Uncivilised Daughters: Abhivyakti, Maitreyi College
A free-flowing ensemble piece that uses choral speaking, group movement and data displays to challenge social and cultural injunctions laid upon the female body.
When: February 26th and 27th
Timings: 7 pm
Viraag: The Players, Kirori Mal College
A chance encounter late in the night between a visitor from the northeast to Delhi and two locals underlines the ease with which we construct stereotypes of people and places of which little is known.
When: February 26th and 27th
Timings: 8.10 pm
Tickets, priced at Rs 200 per day, are available at the venue. For more, check here or call 011-43663080/90.
Considering Delhi is known for its flair for drama and histrionics, it makes sense that we have our own college theatre festival. The Old World Collegiate Theatre is an annual tradition and this edition features a fresh set of plays, both originals and adaptations, from all the active drama societies of Delhi University.
A brainchild of Keval Arora, who is also the staff adviser for the dramatics society at Kirori Mal College, the festival is now in its 15th year. It’s interesting to know that Keval was part of the college’s drama society, The Players, before joining the college as faculty and taking charge of the budding performers and playwrights. In the words of the man himself, this fest is “a special, if not unique, event in the collegiate theatre calendar because it is more enabling and congenial as compared to the environments in which college theatre groups usually perform”.
WHAT IS IT
Since it’s not a competition, each group gets an opportunity to present two back-to-back shows at the same venue, which allows them to tweak their second performance based on the experience of their first. They are also granted a fair degree of control of the performance environment and given extensive feedback from their assigned mentor.
The participating plays created by student bodies are previewed live by the selection committee and shortlisted based on the novelty of the scripts – challenges posed and the manner in which these are negotiated in the script, whether its fresh writing or an adaptation of existing material – acting and design skills; the quality of engagement with contemporary issues; and finally, ensuring the plays are a mix of what’s on offer at the college level in terms of language, style, tone, and range.
WHAT TO EXPECT
This year’s line-up features eight plays, which will be staged at India Habitat Centre’s amphitheatre in the last week of February. We are especially excited about Snoop Dog by St. Stephen’s Shakespeare Society, Syaahi by Vayam of Shivaji College, Art by Fourth Wall Productions of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, and Uncivilised Daughters by Abhivakti of Maitreyi College, but don’t let our preferences cloud your judgement. Here’s what Keval has to say about each play.
Run For Your Wife: Sangharsh, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College
A comic farce concerning a man with a secret double life, and an ill-timed accident that threatens to bring the façade crashing down.
When: February 20th and 22nd
Timings: 7 pm
Snoop Dog: Shakespeare Society, St. Stephen’s College
A rumbustious satire, it is political commentary neatly camouflaged by the fun and games that dominate the performance. Echoes of Manto’s story, The Dog of Tetwal, are not coincidental.
When: February 20th and 22nd
Timings: 8 pm
Deluxe Hair Cutting Saloon: Shunya, Ramjas College
A delicately flavoured look at small lives caught up in the trivial rhythms of the everyday.
When: February 21st and 23rd
Timings: 7 pm
Syaahi: Vayam, Shivaji College
An interweaving of three well-known plays by one of India’s foremost modern dramatists, Vijay Tendulkar, through a central metaphor that allows us to revisit each of them afresh.
When: February 21st and 23rd
Timings: 8.15 pm
Art: Fourth Wall Productions, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies
A witty comedy about art and its pretensions, and friendship and its failures. And caught in the middle is a priceless canvas.
When: February 24th and 25th
Timings: 7 pm
Veronica’s Room: Verbum, Sri Venkateswara College
A tale with so many layers that it takes the ‘who’ in the ‘whodunit’ to a completely new level.
When: February 24th and 25th
Timings: 8.15 pm
Uncivilised Daughters: Abhivyakti, Maitreyi College
A free-flowing ensemble piece that uses choral speaking, group movement and data displays to challenge social and cultural injunctions laid upon the female body.
When: February 26th and 27th
Timings: 7 pm
Viraag: The Players, Kirori Mal College
A chance encounter late in the night between a visitor from the northeast to Delhi and two locals underlines the ease with which we construct stereotypes of people and places of which little is known.
When: February 26th and 27th
Timings: 8.10 pm
Tickets, priced at Rs 200 per day, are available at the venue. For more, check here or call 011-43663080/90.