Xaverian Theatrical Society’s annual flagship event Theaxav ‘25 held on March 11 and 12

St Xavier’s College Autonomous, Kolkata takes the art of theatre to its new heights with the Xaverian Theatrical Society’s annual flagship event Theaxav ‘25 which was themed Shrinkhale Jhankar which translates to the rattling of the chains. The event was held on March 11 and 12, 2025, a space that speaks for itself, a space of art, talents, and a meeting point for all thespians all around Kolkata.

Father Principal Rev Dr Dominic Savio SJ, Vice Principal Prof Bertram Da Silva and Deans of several departments graced the festival’s inauguration. The event line up for Day 1 included Darpan- stage play, Shor – Street play, Tell a Tale, Adwitiya –Monoact, Shabd- Script Writing and had notable figures of the industry as judges for the respective events. Thus the event was graced by the presence of Mukul Ahmed, Debashish Mondol, Rahul Dev Mondal, Subhra Sourav Das, and Santanil Ganguly as judges for the first day. The event line up for the second day included Ragmanch –Musical storytelling, Tarang – Radio play, Rooprekha – Short Film and Bohurupi – Theme Walk.

These events were adorned by eminent figures like Ayana Mukherjee, RJ Aritra, Sayan Ghosh and Anusmita Dutta as judges.The first day of the event reached its peak with the home production titled ‘Under His Eye’, a theatrical representation of the Orwellian dystopia, Atwood’s Gilead and surveillance in relation to the rise and fall of dictatorial power. The play juxtaposes the art of stage play with that of street play and makes apt use of music, dance, blocking and the space. This is to combine all forms of stagecraft that the society has experienced in their theatrical journey so far and create a theatrical montage with live action, music, dance, masks and spectacle.

Several colleges all throughout Kolkata have come up with talented performances and teams like ‘Wildeflower’ from SXC, ‘Kolotaan’ from SXC, ‘Ucchingre’ from Scottish Church College, ‘Enact, Antarjaal’ from Bhawanipur Education society have left an indelible mark with their own theatrical and artistic vision.

The second day of the event had an insightful Masterclass, more like a workshop, by none other than the well-renowned Koushik Sen on the topic concerning the art of acting and its differences considering the stage and the screen. There was also a panel discussion on the relationship between the screen and the stage with figures like Pavel, Biswajit Das, Abanti Chakraborty and Debashish Sen Sharma seating together on the stage and enriching the curious young minds with their perspectives and experience.

Behind the curtain worked a dedicated Core Committee and an Organizing Committee who made it possible to have such a theatrical event at the heart of the city. The event truly fulfilled its ambition and aspiration to bring the city together, to experience theatre not just via the stage but via all interrelated art forms and conceive the art in its most holistic form.