A North East Theatre Festival was organised for the theatre lovers of Ranchi by the department of tourism, art, culture, sports and youth affairs in association with the National School of Drama, New Delhi. The five-day-long theatre festival was an effort to build a bridge between the cultures of the northeastern states and Jharkhand through theatre. The first-ever North East Theatre Festival saw five plays — Bubbles in the River, directed by Shahid ul Haq; Lokthel, directed by Laishram Randhoni Devi; Pokhila , directed by Jyoti Narayan Nath, Laampi, directed by Uttamkumar Naorem and Jina & Etiben, directed by Bendang Walling. Over 125 artistes from Assam, Manipur and Nagaland participated in the festival.Sanjay Lal, an NSD alumnus and the coordinator of the festival, told RT, “Each play brings a different essence to the stage. This festival has brought some of the best artistes from theatre academies of north-eastern India and is a great opportunity for cultural exchange. These plays are an insight into the art and theatre culture of the people of northeastern India."The themes of the plays ranged from women’s empowerment to identity crisis of individuals. Sharing the theme of his play, Jyoti Narayan Nath, the director of Pokhila, said, “Pokhila explores the struggles of a young girl who becomes a clueless victim to the advances of a man. Through her eyes, the play explores the impact of the social evils in our society and how they impact the life of a little girl.”The festival saw the presence of many theatre enthusiasts from across the capital.“I have been very interested in theatre and acting for many years now, but there are few opportunities to actually experience such nuanced performances. I missed the first day of the festival, but the rest of the four days were phenomenal. Ranchi needs more such festivals to promote theatre culture among the young and old alike,” said Anubhav Kumar , a student of Gossener College, Ranchi.Sharing her experience at the festival, Asha Sinha, a member of the audience, said, “The performances were soul-stirring. It is rare to have national-level theatre artists performing in Ranchi and I thoroughly enjoyed the show.”

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