A still from the Vietnamese play Steel Land, which was showcased on the second day of the BRICS Theatre Festival
From a Russian puppet show that featured puppets appearing to breathe fire and performing acrobatics to a Vietnamese production exploring the themes of war and peace, BRICS Theatre Festival, inaugurated by the Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat brought different narratives to the stage from October 12 to 14. Held under the theme of Shared Stories, Shared Futures, the three-day festival featured 11 plays from nine countries — India, Thailand, Indonesia, Russia, Iran, Vietnam, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia — alongside multiple academic sessions and discussions, encouraging future cultural collaborations.
Speaking about the idea behind the festival’s curation, National School of Drama director Chittaranjan Tripathy said, “We wanted to reflect the diversity of theatrical traditions and contemporary concerns across participating countries. The second day presented a Russian puppet show which was no less than a spectacle that regaled the adults and the children alike, drawing a sea of phone cameras, giggles and whistles. An ape puppet was greeted with particular enthusiasm, while a sequence in which a puppet appeared to breathe fire as the lights dimmed proved a highlight. These exchanges reflected the festival’s larger ambition to bring artists and audiences into contact with unfamiliar performance traditions. “Theater skills teach us how to have agency, to adapt quickly and be flexible. Reflecting on the growing dominance of artificial intelligence, Buchan stated that theatre helps to “bring more feeling from one human to another, connecting us beyond words. So I’m hoping that will be reflected in our production.”
