Cuttack, July 8: A heart-touching dance drama by a theatre group from Finland set the mood at the ongoing International Theatre Olympiad here on Tuesday evening.
Two artistes of Dance Theatre Pinta group mesmerised the audience with their performance based on an interesting theme on human evolution.
The dance drama titled Nemo (quest for existence) depicted the struggle of human beings. The 45-minute performance showed how worldly pleasures are eating into the personal space and making people lonely.
The dance drama was directed and choreographed by Rosa Lohiniva, along with Laura Humpplia.
"Despite being a non-verbal dance drama, we were glued to our seats as the artistes communicated through their expressions that were simply outstanding," said Swati Dash, a member of the audience. According to her, performances by the foreign threatre groups so far have been the best in the 23rd edition of the theatre fest.
Earlier on July 4, another dance drama by Malaysian artistes also earned huge applause. The dance drama called 'Farewell my concubine - The movement of the martyr' proved to be the most entertaining drama that had a unique blend of Wushu martial arts, dance and theatre.
"So far, the plays staged by various foreign groups have been the centre of attraction at the theatre fest. Being a member of an Indian theatre group, we are also learning from our foreign counterparts about creativity and experiments," said Akash Diwedi, a theatre artiste.
Diwedi said the play 'Jamuna' by the artistes of Theatre Folk, an Oxford-based group formed by Bangladeshi students in UK, was amazing, as they had done a lot of experiments and infused a new sense of imagination among others.
The play, based on torture and struggle of a woman during the Bangladesh's war of Independence, was staged on the opening day of the festival on July 2.
Utkal Yuva Sanskrutik Sangha (UYSS) has been organising the fest for the past 22 years. Theatre groups from 15 countries have participated in the festival this year.
"Our effort to bring together theatre artistes from India and abroad has received positive response. We will continue to work to keep the art of theatre alive," said Kartik Rath, UYSS general secretary.
Around 2,500 artistes, including eminent and promising playwrights, directors, classical and folk dancers, vocalists, musicians and critics from around 20 states in India and 15 countries have participated in the 12-day extravaganza.
All-India classical and folk dance competition and vocal and instrumental music contest are also held simultaneously as part of the festival. These will conclude on July 12.
"Groups from Russia, United Kingdom, Finland, Romania, Italy, Mexico, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Iran, UAE, Bahrain, Bangladesh and Nepal have taken part in the theatre Olympiad this year," Rath said.
