A scene from Aakhirkaar
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
When Ranga Shankara opened its doors to the public in October 2004, it decided to go all out. “We started with a 45-day festival, and I became five years older in those 45 days,” laughs Arundhati Nag, the founder of this iconic theatre space in Bengaluru. Of course, much has changed in the city since it opened all those years ago. “The demography has changed. We have had two generations of audiences and artists turning over.” .
Ranga Shankara, in her opinion, has become “a witness to Bengaluru and its growth and a refuge to people who don’t know where to go, who don’t have too many friends in the city.” And its annual theatre festival, which continues to this day, is a “coming together” of all that the space represents. “It is a toast to what the creative soul of this country is,” says Arundhati, who is all geared up for the 21st edition of the festival. As part of the event, which will take place across two weekends on October 24, 25, 26, 31, and November 1, five unique plays will be staged. These plays, she says, collectively offer insights into “how youngsters are creating work” and “tell you what is going on in the minds of five important creators in the country.”
The plays are different from each other, “like chalk and cheese…not one genre,” says Arundhati, adding that the lineup this year is a serious one that “ tells you what is going on in this country.” These include Kavan, an Ambedkarite opera directed by Abhishek Majumdar, focusing on the inherent inequality in India’s caste system and Something Like Truth, written by Shanta Gokhale and directed by Parna Pethe, which explores our relationship with truth, freedom and justice through four powerful monologues. There is also Neel Chaudhuri’s Aakhirkaar, inspired by stories from the book Sum by David Eagleman; Saurabh Nayyar’s Naam Mein Ka Rakhwo Hai, a satire about truth and Kattala Neralu, a Kannada play, translated and directed by Venkatesh Prasad, which is based on David Harrower’s Blackbird.
Actor and theatre person, Arundhati Nag
| Photo Credit:
K BHAGYA PRAKSH
Also, unlike in previous editions of the festival, the curators have dispensed with having a distinct theme, points out Arundhati. Instead, “we just thought we would liberate ourselves and look around completely free-minded,” the only caveat being that they steered away from popular work. The curatorial team went looking for plays that “you would not find otherwise…that is cutting edge…dares to be different,” she says. “We bring plays that others would not call.”
The Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival 2025 will be held at Ranga Shankara, JP Nagar, Bengaluru, from 24 October to 1 November, spanning two weekends. For more information, email programming@rangashankara.in. Tickets are available on BookMyShow and at the box office.
Published – October 23, 2025 05:39 am IST