Muktadhara 2016 will be formatted in a style similar to that of 2014 beginning with a 7 day workshop by Sanjoy Ganguly at Badu - a suburban village where Girish Bhavan, the administrative center of the organization is located. The season in December will be winter and the weather will be cool. The workshop will take place as usual at the mango garden, near Girish Bhavan. As evening falls and darkness sets in, we will continue to work for another hour or two. When the last bird has gone back home to her nest, we will break for the day.

After the 7 day workshop by Sanjoy Ganguly, inauguration of the performing part of the festival will take place at the wonderful ICCR auditorium at Kolkata. Remaining part of the festival will be then taken to the villages of the district of South 24 Parganas where Jana Sanskriti operates. Here the participants will have a firsthand experience of the practice of Theatre of the Oppressed among the marginalized communities.

The plays which will be constructed in Sanjoy’s workshop will be played out here, before a massive audiences in the village - several thousands of them. We shall witness how humanity comes together to create understanding about the issues causing oppression and offer pathways to one another. It is indeed special to see humanity mix and mingle re-examining, constructing thoughts and practices. After rounding up the performing part of the festival in the villages, participants will return to their base at Badu.

The day after is the last day of the festival and is usually spent in some serious reflection about ideological and practical issues facing Theatre of the Oppressed in general and there will also be an evaluation of the festival and further questions and answers regarding what had been witnessed in the villages combined with the practical and theoretical knowledge participants have about Jana Sanskriti and their own work back home. This discussion session is followed by a special dinner. Busier participants leave the very next day while those who wish to travel around the country linger around and spend another day or two at Jana Sanskriti to plan and organize their travel.

FRIENDS FROM MUKTADHARA 2014

We hope you enjoyed reading this briefing of what a ‘Muktadhara’ festival is like. We further hope that this will spark your enthusiasm to register your names and do the necessary in order for you to be here with us for 15 days to personally witness what Boal termed, “The largest and the longest lasting forum theatre operation in the world”.

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ABOUT MUKTA MANCHA

MUKTA MANCHA - An "open stage" in Digambarpur village, South 24 Parganas is situated hardly 300 metres away from the Mridangabhanga river.

Recognizing "art as the basic need" for every human being irrespective of any socio-economic disparity, Jana Sanskriti along with the local agricultural farmer's community conceptualized MUKTA MANCHA. It was built in early 2000 by the local community using bamboos, mud, hay and ropes.

This space is central to Jana Sanskriti's activities in the Sunderbans. This space is utilized by the community for theatre, dance, drawing, painting, meetings and performances. 

This "open stage" is also central to the Muktadhara festival's travelling phase in rural Bengal. 

Come join us! Registrations have begun!

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