New Delhi: Dr Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent charge) for Culture and Tourism has announced here today that 8th edition of the greatest carnival of Theatre in the World will take place in India for the first time ever from February 17 – April 08, 2018 simultaneously in various cities across the country. Addressing a Press Conference here today in the presence of Shri Ratan Thiyam, Chairperson, NSD Society & Prof. Waman Kendre, Director, National School of Drama, the Minister said that there will be 500 plays & 700 ambience performances from across the world and Allied activities like exhibitions, seminars, symposia, interactive discussions and workshops with well-known academicians, authors, actors, designers and directors will be held. He said that the Leading luminaries of world theatre will take part.
In a development that puts India firmly among the top nations in the world theatre map, the country is all set to host the next edition of the prestigious Theatre Olympics. Established in 1993, the Theatre Olympics is the foremost international theatre festival, presenting the finest productions of well-known theatre practitioners from around the world.
The Theatre Olympics, being held in India for the first time, is being organised by National School of Drama, under the aegis of Ministry of Culture. The country’s tryst with the biggest celebration of theatre in the world will take place from February 17 till April 08, 2018 and will be held in 15 cities across India.
It was also announced that the inaugural ceremony of the Theatre Olympics will take place in New Delhi, in a gala function with performances by hundreds of artistes while the closing ceremony will take place in Mumbai. The Theatre Olympics 2018 will be the 8th edition of the event and will feature maximum number of Indian & International theatre groups, invitee eminent theatre personalities along with their performances. In addition, there will be ambience performances with allied activities like exhibitions, seminars, symposia, interactive discussions and workshops with well-known academicians, authors, actors, designers and directors.
The Theatre Olympics was established in 1993 in Delphi, Greece, as the first international theatre festival. With the tagline ‘Crossing Millennia’, this is an initiative to connect the cultural past with the present and future, bringing the richness and diversity of theatre heritage to the experiments and research of contemporary theatre.
The first country to host the Theatre Olympics was Greece in 1995. Japan hosted the second edition in Shizuoka in 1999, followed by Russia in 2001. In 2006 the Olympics were held in Istanbul, Turkey and four years later, in 2010 in Seoul, South Korea. China hosted them in Beijing in 2014 and in 2016 the 7th Theatre Olympics were held in Wroclaw, Poland. India is all set to join this illustrious list as it plays host to the 8th edition of this global event.
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