Imphal, January 03 2008: The 11^th Bharat Rang Mahotsav, marking the beginning of the 51^st year of the prestigious National School of Drama (NSD), will open at the Kamani Auditorium on January 7, 2009.Shri Jawahar Sircar, Union Secretary for Culture, Government of India will inaugurate the 13-day long festival in the presence of the guest of honour, Smt Zohra Sehgal, an eminent theatre personality.

The festival will open with a performance of Awagha Rang Ekachi Zaala (Marathi), directed by Ashok Samel.

In Delhi, the festival will feature 63 productions, out of which 51 are from India and 12 are overseas plays, over a span of 13 days from January 7 to 19 this year.

As done in past few years, 18 productions of the 11th Bharat Rang Mahotsav will also be showcased in Lucknow from January 11 to 19 this year.

Three Manipuri plays namely Daak-Ghar directed by eminent theatre director Heisnam Kanhailal, Moirang Parva by Loitongbam Dorendra and Rickshaw Amasung Nongmei by the NSD graduate S.Thaninleima will be staged on January 11 at 7.30 pm at Kamani Auditorium, on January 19 at 6 pm at Meghadoot Open Air Theatre and on January 16 at 6pm at Bahumukh Theatre here respectively.

One-hour long Daak-Ghar written by Rabindranath Tagore will be performed by the Kalakshetra, Manipur.

Loitongbam Dorendra's 80-minute play-Moirang Parva is written by himself and will be performed by the Imphal Theatre, Manipur.

Seventy five-minute long Rickshaw Amasung Nongmei to be performed by the Khenjonglang is scripted by the director S.Thaninleima herself.

The Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) was started a decade ago by the NSD in order to contribute to the growth and development of theatre across the country.

The National School of Drama started its annual festival by showcasing plays performed by Indian theatre practitioners, and the same has grown into an international event, catering to theatre companies from around the world.

It is today acknowledged as the largest theatre festival of Asia � dedicated only to theatre � and is firmly established on the international theatre festival map.

The NSD, in its effort to nurture talent and encourage upcoming directors, has focused on the productions by young directors.

Plays included in the festival are collaborative works, based on rich texts, adaptations and also plays developed through training and workshops.

The Festival also includes a work advised by the theatre legend Badal Sircar which is one of the most important classics by Tagore; "Rakto Korobi".

A remake of the everlasting love story of "Laila Majnu" by the famous theatre director Ram Gopal Bajaj is a part of the upcoming festival and also the play is selected to be the inaugural play for the BRM Festival in Lucknow.

With seven venues presenting five to six productions per day through the duration of the festival in Delhi and two venues presenting the productions over a period of 9 days in Lucknow, the NSD will play host about 2,000 theatre people as its participants.

As in the past, the festival shows are expected to run to full houses, attracting over 50,000 spectators in Delhi and about 10,000 viewers in Lucknow.

This year too, there will be 12 international productions.

The Czech play �The Painted World' is a unique black light show performed by the best black light effects and images in a story of world continents.

�Le Premiere Fois' is a collaboration between the Swiss / French actors and NSD who have come together exclusively for this festival and are performing this play for the first time.

The �Days of Adel' from Israel is set against the background of a psychiatric ward in Jerusalem.

Plays from Japan , Bangladesh , Pakistan , Afghanistan , Israel , Germany , Czechoslovakia , Nepal and Poland will be showcased at the festival, and will provide an opportunity to interact with directors and theatre groups.

This gives an opportunity to learn and understand theatre from a global perspective and the festival becomes a melting pot of different cultures and views.

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