Dhritiman Chaterji in a moment from Dark Horse; (below) Suranjana Dasgupta and Ashis Chattopadhyay. Picture by Aranya Sen

Two productions from Bengal, two from outside the state, plus a dash of dance, street and intimate theatre. All fresh, for first-time viewing by Calcutta?s theatre-lovers.

Newness defines Odeon 2005, the theatre festival anchored annually by cell phone service provider Hutch, starting June 24. What gives Odeon an edge over other festivals in the city is its attempt to not repeat itself. So, over the past few years, there has been a steady stream of theatre veterans, from Naseeruddin Shah to Amal Allana, Anuradha Kapur to Rahul de Cunha.

The fifth edition of Odeon will host Chennai-based Gowri Ramnarayan?s Dark Horse and Nadira Babbar?s Ji Jaisi Aap Ki Marzi from Mumbai.

Under Babbar?s direction, her group Ekjute will stage the Hindi play, a collage of four monologues enacted by four women from various social strata questioning and exploring customs and beliefs. Over the years, Ekjute has dealt with the works of playwrights like Maxim Gorky, Arthur Miller, John Osborne and several Indians including Badal Sircar.

Gowri Ramnarayan?s English production Dark Horse is based on an interview the writer-director had with Marathi poet Arun Kolatkar, who made a significant contribution to Marathi and English writing, in Mumbai?s Kala Ghoda area.

After his death, Ramnarayan collated her memories of the man and his poems to form a performance that delves deep into the poet?s mind. With dialogue, verse and Carnatic music, Dark Horse features actor Dhritiman Chaterji as Kolatkar.

Both Ji Jaisi... and Dark Horse will be staged at GD Birla Sabhagar; the first on June 25 and the second on June 26.

This apart, Gobardanga Shilpayan?s Antarjali Jatra and city-based Illusion?s Kanan Pishir Jawpomala will be premiering at Odeon, sponsored by Hutch. The financial support comes as a shot in the arm for the cash-starved Bengali theatre groups.

?As in previous years, the two new plays were selected by a panel of experts who short-listed them after a preliminary screening. Later, they sat with the two directors to discuss the merits of the scripts. The only criterion ? the play had to be new,? said Sohag Sen, who has been a theatre consultant with Odeon since its inception. The expert panel comprised Basabi Roy, Manoj Mitra and Samik Bandopadhayay.

For the four-month-old Illusion, Kanan Pishir Jawpomala will be its first major production. Steered by stage actress Suranjana Dasgupta, the play is a peek into the plight of 19th century widows in Bengal through the eyes of two teenaged girls. ?We are trying to present three generations together and capture the lifestyle of the women back then,? said Dasgupta.

Ekjute stages Ji Jaisi Aapki Marzi

For Ashis Chattopadhyay of Shilpayan, the toughest task in adapting Kamal Kumar Mazumder?s Antarjali Jatra has been in transferring the imageries on stage. The story, made famous by Goutam Ghose?s film, is a poignant account of a girl being married off to a dying old man. ?Kamal Kumar?s difficult language and style make the job very daunting? For us, it?s like looking back 150 or 200 years and I didn?t have the film in my mind,? said Chattopadhyay.

Antarjali Jatra will be staged at Rabindra Sadan on July 2, while Kanan Pishir Jawpomala is slated for Madhusudan Mancha on July 3.

In a sustained attempt to help theatre flourish in the city, Odeon?s ambit has been expanded this year to introduce three more forms ? street, dance and intimate theatre.

?We are looking at going beyond a one-off affair with Odeon. We are looking at other forms and trying to explore their intrinsic qualities,? said Hutch CEO Kumar Ramanathan, announcing the festival plans on Friday.

Theatre Spandan will hit the streets across the city ? Deshbandhu Park and College Square in the north to Nandan and Madhusudan Mancha in the south ? with Shabdogaon, based on the real-life story of two social workers killed in Gaya district of Bihar.

Sohag Sen?s Ensemble will put up Jogajog, the intimate theatre project, for a handful of viewers at Crossword bookstore. Calcutta School of Music presents dance theatre Today?s World with music and movements. The 30-minute non-linear piece is directed by Munia Karlekar.

Next Friday, the festival opens with a seminar on ?where has the actor gone??. The panel features Dhritiman Chaterji, Arun Mukherjee, Gowri Ramnarayan, Nadira Babbar and Jagannath Guha, with film-maker Aparna Sen as chief guest. The event will be compered by Konkona Sen Sharma.