With time slipping away faster than ever, India’s first-ever micro-drama festival, with its fourth edition, is all set to bring the art of storytelling in its most condensed form. Named after Thespis, the Greek artist believed to be the first to perform on stage, this theatre festival introduces a new concept of ‘ten-minute plays’.
Secretary of Vriksh the Theatre, Ajith G. Maniyan recalled when the group was planning to stage Hearts That Wrote History— a drama based on the life of V.P. Menon—the theatre was struggling for funds. “It was Prakash Vaddikal, a Kerala film director,” Maniyan remarked, “who suggested experimenting with a short-format drama, which gave way to the idea of ‘micro-drama’”.
Although Thespis welcomes participants nationwide—and is now hosting its fourth edition—Maken pointed out, disappointed, that the theatre continues to struggle with a lack of financial aid.
According to him, while this concept of staging a compact play was criticised by many, Sahitya Akademi winner and Malayalam-language playwright and novelist Omchery N.N. Pillai on the contrary, profusely backed the idea. This year’s event, he added, is also a tribute to Pillai. The novelist passed away on November 22, 2024, at the age of 100.
Vriksha the Theatre is one of the first organisations to introduce the idea of ‘micro-dramas’. Following the 2017 edition held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in New Delhi, the drama carnival moved to the capital’s Kamani Auditorium for its 2018 and 2019 events.
Scheduled to take place at LTG Auditorium this year on February 2, the festival is set to feature over 600 artists and 30 plays from multiple Indian languages including Hindi, English, Bengali, Kashmiri, Manipuri, Assamese, Punjabi, Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam, and Urdu. These 30 plays will vie for awards across 10 categories—Best Production, Best Script, Best Direction, Best Actor, and Best Actress. The Best Play Award, with a cash prize of Rs. 50,000, is the festival’s most prestigious title.
Source: vrikshthetheatre.org
True to tradition, the event will open with a non-competitive Manipuri play directed by Y. Theba Devi, deputy secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi in New Delhi. An American performance will take center stage as the international act.
“We have a total of 80 students in our theatre,” said Maniyan, noting that the training offered to these students is free of any cost.
Founded in 2015 at Kerala Club in New Delhi with the motto, ‘Art for Humanity’, Vriksh the Theatre has consistently championed the cause of using art for social good. This fourth chapter of the Thespis will focus on the upliftment of street children.
