Ibsen festival to take off

This December, Delhi is all set to welcome the full blast of legendary Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's brilliant rebellion with the fifth Delhi Ibsen Festival. Organised by the Dramatic Arts and Design Academy (DADA) under the auspices of the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the festival is to be held between December 1 to 7 and will see seven plays of Ibsen performed by a combination of Indian and foreign personalities.

Ibsen's plays were powerful critiques of the 19th century society written in such a stark and brazen manner that they proved to be a finger down the throat for many. Often reviled and criticized as “nasty” and “loathsome”, the plays remain equally relevant in modern times and specifically to the Indian sub continent. The play 'A Doll’s House' for instance examines the institution of marriage and has even been transliterated into Urdu as 'Gurrya Ka Ghar' by director Anwer Jafri for its acute relevance to Pakistani society today. “The protagonist Sakina (Nora in the original play) is a powerful character. Even when she does not speak, her very presence is a striking comment on the status of women in Pakistan."

This ethos and relevance is precisely what the organisers of the Ibsen Festival are trying to showcase. "We have seen many aspects of ‘inter-cultural’ Ibsen in the festival in the past five years. I felt it was time to look into new areas, and bring about a three -way cultural interaction: a Norwegian playwright, an Indian company and an international director!” says the director of the festival and DADA, Nissar Allana.

Celebrated Polish theatre director Wlodzimierz Staniewski, in collaboration with Kolkata based theatre group 'Padatik', will be staging 'The Master Builder'. "My instinct whispered: 'Do it! Do it! You are in love with India, you like challenges and you like to bet everything on one card'. I followed my instinct because it has rarely let me down,” says the Pole.

This festival has given a chance for some aspiring theater artists like Shubham Bhatia of Ramjas College to adapt Ibsen’s 'The League of Youth' in India's rural setting. The adaptation titled 'Jai Jawaan Party' mirrors the original play about a young idealist man who dreams of eliminating corruption among the "old" guard and brings in his new group to power. Two well known young directors, Heisnam Tomba from Manipur and Sankar Venkateshwaran from Kerala are also doing specially commissioned productions of 'When We Dead Awaken' and 'An Enemy of the People'.

The event is scheduled to end with a seminar on December 8 and 9 on 'Who's the enemy?’