Bhubaneswar, May 8: Much to the delight of theatre aficionados, city-based troupe Uttar Purush is coming up with its sixth annual theatre festival Natak Parikrama where four plays will be staged at Rabindra Mandap.

The event will start with a historical play on May 21. Athacha Chanakya directed by theatre artiste Asim Basu and penned by playwright Ratnakar will be staged on the first day. The play chronicles the life of the great mind was that Chanakya.

On the second day Bidraha Nija Birodhare will be staged. It tells the story of a retired IAS officer. His children are well established. He believes in karma, but is money minded. He once rebukes a Brahmin beggar, asking him to earn his bread and butter. The beggar curses that he will die in seven days. With impending death, the play focuses upon the transformation the character goes through. Pabitra Mohanty directs the play written by Gadadhara Nanda.

The third play to be staged at the fest is Mukti Labha. Directed by Abhinna Routray and playwright by Pramod Tripathy, the play deals with the adage “avarice is the root of all evil”.

It is about a family of a mother and her sons. The father leaves them to become a saint when the youngest son is born. The play goes on to narrate how the sons meet their father and how their greed destroys their lives.

The festival calls curtains with a contemporary play Aaghat, the story of a couple from the medical profession. They are based abroad, but have to return to the country. While the husband makes compromises with the prevailing corruption, the wife refuses to comply. Shankar Tripathy has penned the play directed by Gaurishyam Mohapatra. “We stage plays across the country all round the year. We try to present something that sends across a message to the audience,” said troupe secretary Mohapatra.