Pune to host Manch Theatre Festival – A Treat for Connoisseurs of English and Hindi Theatre
Pune, 7th April 2025: Bengalaru based Bhasha Centre, a theatre organization that aims to enable work and build capacity in the theatre ecosystem in Association with District by Zomato is organizing ‘Manch’, a unique theatre festival at Maharashtra Cultural Centre’s Shreeram Lagoo Rang-Avakash at Hira Baug on Tilak Road. The festival will take place between April 10th and 13th and shall feature some extraordinary English and Hindi plays with some outstanding workshops by experts. The festival will celebrate Innovation in Theatre Production.
The festival shall be inaugurated at hands of Bruce Guthrie, Head of Theatre and Films at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, who will deliver a pertinent keynote address on “Looking Beyond Performance”, which will highlight the importance and potential of the role of the theatre producer in imagining new ways to present work and bring people of different sensibilities together. Following the keynote, there will be a dynamic conversation between Bruce Guthrie and renowned playwright Irawati Karnik, exploring themes of creative collaboration and the role of the producer in the theatrical ecosystem.
Most of the plays that will be featured at the festival would be staged for the first time in Pune. The list includes, I Killed My Mother / It Wasn’t My Fault (Comedy and Drama), The Open Couple (Comedy and Drama) and Rihila (Drama). The topics of these plays range from stories like a 25-year-old woman grapples with self-doubt, unemployment, and her mother’s expectations, a couple’s marriage as they experiment with the concept of an “open” relationship to exploring the hope and uncertainty of building a new world respectively. The plays shall be staged on between April 11th and 13th in the evenings.
Apart from some incredible plays this ‘Manch’ theatre fest will have some interesting workshops designed for theatre practitioners and enthusiasts. This includes Women in Blacks: An Introductory Workshop on Theatre Production, for Women by Saatvika Kantamneni, Chala Likes Yeu Dya: Talking About Your Work on Social Media by Meghana AT, Stage to Page: How to Write About Theatre by Prachi Sibal & Jitender Singh and WoW with Abhay Mahajan: A Workshop on Workshops. Lastly, there would be a picnic with celebrated playwrights Manaswini Lata Ravindra and Dharmakirti Sumant having a relaxed, unmoderated conversation.
Bruce Guthrie, Head of Theatre and Films at NCPA, Mumbai, said, “What makes theatre extraordinary is its immediacy—live bodies sharing space, telling stories that reflect, challenge, and move us. But to truly elevate theatre culture, we need more than great productions. We must have the capacity and the will to imagine and build the conditions that sustain the work: rigorous training, long-term thinking, and a culture that values artists and audiences.”
“We’re thrilled to be in Pune and at the Maharashtra Cultural Centre! As a theatre organisation, we at Bhasha Centre occupy the rare and distinct position of not creating our own work. Instead, we derive our thrills and satisfaction from identifying gaps in the ecosystem and building sustainable initiatives to fill them. www.thedramalibrary.com, India’s only digital library of unpublished playscripts was built to address the need for access to contemporary playwriting. Manch, as a programme, was created to provide independent groups with the wherewithal to run their plays for 30+ performances. The Manch Theatre Festival – our first theatre festival – is therefore as much an opportunity for us to see a tangible creation come to life, as it is an opportunity to meet and engage with Pune audiences to further our vision. ” said Vivek Madan of Bhasha Centre
Some sessions are free and some sessions have minimal participation fee. Booking and Registration can be done on District by Zomato.
