Thomas Borchert as Count Von Krolock and Lucy Scherer as Sarah during a rehearsal for the musical Dance of the Vampires, directed by film-maker Roman Polanski, at Berlin’s Theater des Westens. (AFP)

A series of theatre festivals colours the city’s winter months (November-January). Close on the heels of the Nandikar National Theatre Festival (December 16-25) comes Aneek’s Ganga Jamuna Natyotsav (December 25-31). And if 2006 closes with an all-night theatre fest by Anya Theatre, the new year begins with a nine-day festival by Lokkrishti (January 6-14). The thread running through the festivals is the tribute to Henrik Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw and Maxim Gorky.

The ninth edition of Ganga Jamuna Natyotsav will be staged across Rabindra Sadan, Girish Mancha, Sisir Mancha and Madhusudan Mancha. The diversity and quality of plays are the highpoints of this multilingual event, says Aneek’s director Amalesh Chakraborty.

The spread features Dhaka-based Shubachan’s Khudito Pashan and Rupabati, Ichchhe Mrityu by South Asian Ibsen Centre, also from Bangladesh, Aswath Bhatt’s solo act Ek Mulaqat Manto Se and Orissa-based Satabdir Kalakar’s Ruddhadwar.

Other participants are Samsaptaka from Delhi, Nagpur Bengali Association, Ritwik of Behrampore and Calcutta groups Pancham Vaidik (Poshukhamar), Rangakarmee (Rudali), Aneek (Punorjibon and Dwitiya Basanta) and Sayak (Dildaar), among others.

Children’s plays will be staged at Madhusudan Mancha — Calcutta Choir’s Thakumar Jhuli, People’s Little Theatre’s puppet show Aswamedh and Nehru Children Museum’s Anubhav. The festival also showcases school and college theatre with a day-long university stage competition on December 26 at Sisir Mancha.

Anya Theatre’s all-night stage bash on December 31 begins at Academy of Fine Arts at 6 pm with a speech on Ibsen and Shaw by Shamik Bandopadhyay, followed by Soumitra Chattopadhyay’s reading from a Shaw play.

“The year marks the death centenary of Ibsen and the 150th birth anniversary of Shaw, and since Shaw was deeply inspired by Ibsen we thought it fitting to present a combined tribute,” said Anya Theatre director Bibhas Chakraborty.

From 10 pm, the action shifts to Rabindra Sadan where Swapnasandhani will premiere Moy Danab, an Ibsen play directed by Koushik Sen. More Ibsen in abridged forms follows with Wild Duck, directed by Suranjana Dasgupta, and A Doll’s House, directed by Abanti Chakraborty.

Arun Mukhopadhyay’s adaptation of Shaw’s How He Lied to Her Husband and Biplab Bandopadhyay’s version of Dark Lady of the Sonnets will give way to Goutam Haldar’s innovative punch of poetry, theatre and music, Kabyegane.

An open-air Barshobaran at midnight will be followed by Alternative Living Theatre’s Victimised and Anya Desh’s Jakhon Andho Prakriti Chandalika.

The Lokkrishti festival, at BD Mancha and Purbasree EZCC in Salt Lake, features Swapnasuchana’s Hemlat-The Prince of Garanhata and Lokkrishti’s Page 4, both directed by Bratya Basu; Cinetel’s Homa Pakhi directed by Soumitra Chattopadhyay; Swapnasandhani’s Shuprabhat and Khonj, directed by Koushik Sen; Theatre Passion’s Anukul; Anya Theatre’s Amaresher Kando; Mohit Chattopadhyay’s Ai Ghum; Shanadho’s Mother.

Theatre journal Mancha Mukhar will be launched on the occasion.

“We are holding the festival at two venues as our audiences are growing by the year,” said Phalguni Chatterjee of Lokkrishti.