Artistes of Begusarai-based theatre group The Fact Rangamandal perform Fight for Freedom on the opening day of the 27th Patliputra Natya Mahotsav at Kalidas Rangalaya in Patna on Thursday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Feb. 3: An enactment of the common man’s fight against corruption and a family drama kept the visitors to the Patliputra Natya Mahotsav glued to their seats on the first night.

The first performance at the 27th instalment of the festival, inaugurated yesterday, was Fight for Freedom. The Fact Rangamandal, Begusarai, presented it.

The hour-and-a-half-long play with a social theme has been written and directed by Praveen Kumar Gunjan.

He said: “We have tried to depict the common man’s day-to-day fight against corruption. It is a burning issue in our contemporary world.”

Some of the actors who breathed life into Gunjan’s script were Khusboo Kumari, Rinku Kumari, Awadh Kumar Thakur and Pankaj Gautam.

The audience found the play entertaining but it also made them reflect on aspects of social reality.

One of them, Rakesh Ranjan said: “The performances at this theatre festival are very entertaining.”

He added: “The biggest attraction at such festivals is that they allow us to watch performances of artistes from other parts of the country as well.”

Actors from Allahabad took the stage after the performers from Begusarai.

They performed Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, written by Vinod Rastogi and directed by Alok Rastogi.

Vinod said: “My play allows a glimpse into the life of every household and revolves around an incident.”

The playwright added: “Sometimes, we ignore incidents that we do not consider to be very important. These can later turn into big problems.” He also said: “This play is very close to my heart. I believe the audience will relate to it.”

The audience did appreciate both the performances.

Another theatre lover who turned up on the first evening, Jai Kumar, said: “Kalidas Rangalaya is a great destination for those who love theatre. Talented artistes from all over the country have performed here. I am sure that this festival will also be very entertaining.”

A glance at the performances lined up for the six days of the event confirms that his belief is not misplaced. Thirty-four proscenium and 11 street plays, including Kanupriya (Dhanbad), Dakghar (Odisha), Jangi Ram ki Haveli (Madhya Pradesh), Brashtachar in Yamlok (Uttar Pradesh) and Bacho Isse (Manipur), would entertain you and I.

Art, culture and youth affairs minister Sukhda Pandey, tourism minister Sunil Kumar “Pintu” and Anjani Kumar Singh, principal secretary, education department, inaugurated the festival.

Pandey said: “It is remarkable that the Patliputra Natya Mahotsav has completed 27 years. This festival gives people a chance to enjoy theatre. Films and television have become famous but theatre still has it own charm. It allows performer to directly connect with the audience, and also takes up issues relevant to the improvement of the society and the masses.”

The tourism minister said: “This is my first visit to the festival though it has been going on for 27 years now. It is a great pleasure to be a part of it and watch talented theatre artistes from various parts of the country showcase their talents.”