A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature
The Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) and Festival 2020 today
announced that the META 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award will be conferred on renowned director, actor,
set designer, writer, teacher and Theater Action Group’s Founder Director, Barry John. A pioneer in the establishment of Drama and Theatre Studies for schools
and instrumental in the success of many of its members. He was also
Founder-Director of the NSD’s Theatre in Education Company and been responsible
for writing the CBSE curriculum for theatre.
The jury for the 15th edition of the awards was announced and
comprises renowned
playwright, stage director and filmmaker Mahesh Dattani, renowned
playwright and novelist Makarand Sathe, an accomplished name
in Indian media Shailja Kejriwal,versatile veteran actress and a teacher
of speech and drama Sushma Seth, National Award winner, celebrated
actor, writer and film and theatre director Saurabh Shukla, actor-writer
Vinay Pathak who’s been actively involved in Indian cinema and theatre
for over two decades, and renowned film, television and theatre actor and
director Lillete Dubey.
METAhas always
recognisedthe value and importance of theatre criticism and sees it as a
necessary tool to better the art of theatre and its larger contribution to
critical discourse underlying social and political frameworks. To mark this
milestone 15th year, META for the first time, has
collaborated with the Indian National
Section of the International
Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) for a conference that focuses on
critical discourse in theatre. The conference will welcome around 15 theatre
critics from India alongside counterparts from Canada, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, Latvia,
Spain, Thailand, the UK and USA. The conferenceis supported by The Kamini
and Vindi Banga Family Trust and
will take place on March 18, 2020.The
Kamini and Vindi BangaFamily Trust focuses on cancer research and education
through the performing arts, and is chaired by Kamini Banga, a marketer, writer,
theatre enthusiast and philanthropist.
Jay Shah,Vice President, Head – Cultural Outreach at the Mahindra Group, said,“This is indeed
a landmark year for the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards and as we look
forward to the 15thedition, we're also delighted to be giving away
the 10thLifetime Achievement Award to a theatre legend, Barry John.
His contribution to stagecraft, especially his focus on introducing theatre
into the school education system, the use of drama therapy and his role in
shaping the theatre and performance industry have been invaluable. On behalf of
the Mahindra Group and the META Festival Secretariat, I congratulate him and
applaud his spirit to rise!”
Born and educated in the UK, Barry John has
lived and worked in India since 1968. He was the Founder-Director of
Theatre Action Group (1973-99), Delhi’s most acclaimed company, and
instrumental in the success of many of its members such as Siddharth Basu, Mira
Nair, Lillete Dubey, Divya Seth, Pamela Rooks, Shah Rukh Khan and Manoj Bajpai.
He was on the faculty of the National School of Drama (1977-80), teaching
and directing young actors such as AnupamKher, PankajKapoor, Anu Kapoor,
Surekha Sikri and Manohar Singh. He has also pioneered the movement
towards an acceptance of drama therapy in his work with the
specially-abled and the marginalised. Barry has himself acted in critically-acclaimed
films like Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Massey
Sahib, Gandhi, Tamas, Miss Beatty’s Children, The Last Viceroy,
The Frontier Gandhi and Tere Bin Laden. A published author and a
SangeetNatakAkademiNational Awardee, he has also acted in the
internationally-acclaimed play Othello: A Play in Black and White by
Roysten Abel which won a Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Festival.
In previous years, the META Lifetime Achievement Award has been
conferred on luminaries of Indian theatre including Vijaya Mehta, Arun Kakade,
Ratan Thiyam, Girish Karnard, Ebrahim Alkazi, the Late Heisnam Kanhailal, the Late
Khaled Chowdhary, the Late Zohra Sehgal, the Late Badal Sarkar and Mahesh Elkunchwar.
Thanking META for the honour, Barry John commented, “Having
hung up my boots (forgive the football analogy) some years ago, it comes as a
surprise to be remembered and awarded, especially to be counted among the
distinguished list of past awardees. It is indeed an honour.”
Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) and Festival will be held from March 13th to 18th,
2020 at New Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium and Shri Ram Centre, where META 2020’s
tenshortlisted plays will be performed for an
esteemed panel of jury members as well as
theatre-lovers in the capital. The winners will be
announced at a Red-Carpet Awards Ceremony on March 19, 2020 at Kamani
Auditorium. The Ceremony welcomes ticket-holders and is an exciting opportunity
to be part of an elegant and star-studded evening.
The media launch
of the META Festival at The Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi hosted a panel
discussion - ‘All The World's a Stage’. The panel, moderated by
Sanjoy K. Roy, included
Avijit Dutt, M.K. Raina, and Lushin Dubey looked at the
discipline and practice of theatre and the live arts across cultures and
continents. The session spoke about the essence of performance and stagecraft,
it’s history and relevance to society including its role in social commentary
and reform. In context of the ongoing socio-political discourse in the country,
the panel also deliberated on the significance of theatre as a form of protest
citing references of notable theatre activists like Safdar Hashmi, the feminist
theatre movement in India and theatre from marginalised communities.
META also
announced a partnership with ZEE Theatre to produce and broadcast a META-winning
play for television audiences across the country.
Promoted by the Mahindra Group as part of its cultural outreach and curated by
Teamwork Arts, a pioneering entertainment company, META annually rewards and
recognises the country’s best productions and performances, along with their
makers and facilitators, providing encouragement to India’s vast theatre
industry across regions and languages, with an aim to increase not just
awareness, but also appreciation of fine theatre.
Sanjoy K Roy, MD, Teamwork Arts & Festival Producer, said, “It’s that time of the
year again when META brings a power-packed canvas of the country’s best plays
to Delhi. We are proud to have been part of the 15 eventful years that META has
traversed and brought to audiences some of the most critical issues of modern
times through powerful and overwhelming theatre. META has spoken to people from
remote corners of India and transcended barriers of language and dialect,
embodying the true power of art! We are grateful for our wonderful partnership
with the Mahindra Group and look towards making theatre matter even more in the
future.”
META 2020
received over 385 entries which were scrutinized by the selection committee and
was pruned to final list of nominations. Ten nominated plays give a
diverse flavor from Indian theatre scene and include plays in varied languages
such as Hindi, English, Hindostani, Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Assamese
(blended with gibberish) and a non-verbal play.
The shortlisted
plays, like every year, will explore several complex themes and issues. Chaheta (Hindostani)
explores the psychological scars of a survivor of a traumatic event. Ekadashavtar
(Marathi) is a political satire based on mythology, while
anotherplay Mickey (Marathi) is a modern
Shakespearean tragedy and a character study of what happens to the best and
worst among us when pressures are high and morals low. Bhaskara Pattelarum Thommiyude Jeevithavum( Malayalam)
deals with tyranny, social struggles, love and freedom.Every Brilliant
Thing(English) is an uplifting play about love, life, family, mental
health and a list of all the wonderful things in the world. For The Record (English
and Hindi) recreates the deliberations, disputes and the drama of a 1971
incident when a tribunal was tasked with selecting three artefacts to represent
India to the world. It questions the ideas of representation and ‘Indianness’.
Gagan Damama Bajyo (A Musical on the life & times of ‘Sardar Bhagat Singh’)(Hindi)
showcases the inspiring life story of one of India's most celebrated freedom
fighters and revolutionaries, Shaheed Bhagat Singh. GhoomNei (Bengali)
is a working-class manifesto which runs through the highway of a dark and
broken society reaching towards light. The Old Man (Assamese
and Gibberish) brings out the eternal conflict between human society and
nature. Maze (Non-Verbal) depicts the relationship
between a servant and an old man who are connected through a web of memory and
reality.
META 2020 will present awards in 14 categories including the
Lifetime Achievement Award as well as 13 competitive categories of Best Play,
Best Director, Best Stage Design, Best Light Design, Best Innovative Sound
Design, Best Costume Design, Best Actor in a Lead Role (Male), Best Actor in a
Lead Role (Female), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male), Best Actor in a
Supporting Role (Female), Best Original Script, Best Ensemble and Best Choreography.
FESTIVAL
TICKETS AND PASSES -
Individual Plays are priced at Rs.100/- and
Rs.200/-
Season Passes for all 10 plays are priced at Rs.1000/-
and Rs.2000/-
Tickets for the Awards Ceremony are priced at
Rs.500/-
Available on www.metawards.com or www.bookmyshow.com
For the full list and details of nominations,
please visit www.metawards.com.
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