Stage being set for upcoming Colombo International Theatre Festival

Performers from various countries will be in Sri Lanka for the Colombo International Theatre Festival which will be held between March 28 and April 4, at the British School Auditorium.

Countries such as India, Austria, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nepal and Sri Lanka will be taking part in the festival. These countries have been selected from around forty countries applied according to the criteria set out by the organizers which include well experienced personnel in the theatre art.

This year, the festival will be focusing on non verbal or minimum verbal performances. Among the participants there will be scholars and many academics on the art of theatre. They will be conducting a series of workshops which will be held at the German Cultural Centre, Colombo.

The festival is organized by the Inter Act Art, a cultural group in order to provide an experience of world Class Theatre to the people from diverse backgrounds in Sri Lanka. This is the second film festival they organize having completed the first theatre festival in year 2012.

On each day of the show, the chief guest will be the Ambassador of the respective country which will be performing on the particular day along with an entertainer. Each day an entertainer or an artiste who has done a yeoman service to the theatre industry will be felicitated. “These felicitations are based on those who have sacrificed towards the improvement of theatre in their regions, but have still not been recognized for their service.” Festival director M. Safeer said.

Meanwhile, the organizers said they did not have enough funds as they did not have a main sponsor for the event.

“There is no sponsorship from the side of the government. We believe these festivals should get the attention of the authorities. We have to provide everything to the foreign artists including accommodation, food, medical facilities etc,” they said. M. Safeer said, “The first festival was organized amidst many difficulties, but it was a success. Our objective is to enhance the knowledge of our youngsters and give a novel and global experience in the art of theatre.”

“By this, we try to fill a void existing in this field, and we hope this will encourage the artists and future generations.” he said.