Bhubaneswar, June 1: The city's theatre lovers enjoyed four days of entertainment with plays on varied themes being staged here.

Natak Parikrama, a four-day theatre festival aimed to create awareness about art among youths, concluded at Bhanja Kala Mandap yesterday with the play Asami. The play portrayed how a common man's descent to immoral governance created by people dealing with money and vote.

"A common man turns to a criminal while real culprits take shelter of law and continue to spread their tentacles. This is the scenario around us," said Asami director Pabitra Mohanty.

Other plays staged during the fest included Hathi O Lanthan directed by Asim Basu and Sagar Manthan by Prasanna Mishra.

The festival provided an opportunity to youngsters to delve into contemporary issues that are plaguing society. "I watched all the plays staged at the fest. The artistes were able to disseminate messages through deft voice modulations and intricate expressions," said Kanhu Behera, a member of the audience.

Another theatre troupe, Panchamaveda, staged Baimundi last week as part of their summer fest. Titled after the old man Baimundi, who turned saviour for the people of Cuttack in 1001, the play showcases how a laundry man on a varsity campus instigated students to leave the path of violent campus politics and lead peaceful lives.

The play, directed by Haren Sahu, was a ticketed one with entry fees at Rs 50.

"Most of the theatre shows around the world are ticketed. Moreover, theatre groups have to depend on donations from corporate houses and sanctions by central and state governments. So, we are attempting to popularise the concept here as well to garner funds and produce better shows," said Sahu.

Bakul Foundation, a Bhubaneswar-based organisation, also hosted a theatre workshop for children between May 18 and 28.

This workshop used several minor presentations, aimed to develop the children's experience and improvisational skills that were finally developed into a collage of public performance with utmost care.

"We focussed on the specific process of acting and the resulting experience. After going through a rigorous regime of physical, theatrical and voice exercises as well as group work, the children wrote the storylines and the dialogues," said Ananta Prasad, a resource persons of the workshop. A total of three plays were staged in the end.

A number of amateur theatre groups based in the city also staged their shows last week.