Agartala, Oct. 30: The 10-day Northeast drama festival, Poorvottar Natya Samaroh, organised by the National School of Drama (NSD), Tripura chapter, from November 1, has sparked resentment here as only one entry from Tripura has been allowed.
Of the 10 plays to be staged at Nazrul Kala Khetra auditorium, six will be from Assam, three from Manipur and# one from Tripura.
"We had expected more plays from Tripura to be accepted by the NSD authority. There are so many good drama groups here, but only one produced by Natya Bhoomi group has been accepted," said S.K. Deb, a leading theatre personality of the state.
Deb said the NSD authority here had been approached for allowing more entries from Tripura to be accommodated in the festival.
NSD director Bijay Kumar Singh, however, pleaded ignorance on the issue and said all the entries had been "selected on merit".
"The six plays to be staged by theatre groups from Assam are not all Assamese-language productions but multi-lingual," said Singh.
Detailing the programme, the NSD director said the 10-day festival would open on November 1 with Prof. Kelfa's Factory, directed by Ranchang Chowdhury under the banner of Mancha Sarupeta of Guwahati. The play will be in Assamese.
On November 2, Guwahati-based Abhinaya group will stage Karengor Ligiree, directed by Rajesh Bhui-yan. This will also be in Assamese.
Manipur's Kalakshetra group will stage Samnadraba Mami, a multi-lingual drama directed by H. Tomba on November 3.
The Rabha language of Assam will also have a place in the festival, as the state's Badungduppa group will stage a play, titled Rhythm of the Valley, on November 4.
Another multi-lingual drama, Imaan, Imaan Paani, will be staged by Guwahati-based Bhaxa Xahityo Xonmiloni and directed by Mrinal Jyoti Goswami.
Host Tripura's lone entry in the festival will be Ami Madhabi in Bengali on November 6. Directed by Sanjay Kar, the play will be performed by the state's most famous drama group, Natya Bhoomi.
Manipur's NT Theatre, Imphal, will stage a drama in Manipuri on November 7. Titled Mangshat (Vendetta), it will be directed by Ningthouja Deepak.
Guwahati's Seagull drama group will perform Apeksha in Hindi, directed by Baharul Islam, on November 8.
Apart from this, Pan Manipuri Theatre from Imphal will stage Dreams from My Room on the penultimate day. This Manipuri play will be directed by Chingtham Banikana Singh.
Assam's Purba Ranga theatre group will stage the last play, Basav Dutta, on November 10. The director of this Assamese drama is Seujpriya Barthakur Goswami.
The upcoming drama festival has aroused keen interest among theatre buffs here but the people feel that the entire Northeast will not be represented in it.
"We thought that through this festival we would get a chance to see the innovative dramas of stalwarts like Ratan Thiyam and Kanhaia Lal of Manipur but they are not coming. What the NSD is doing though is commendable. We hope that all the plays are good," said Madhusudan Debbarma, a Kokborok playwright.