Theatre Olympics: Antigone staged in city

GUWAHATI, March 17: Ongoing the 8thTheatre Olympics on Saturday witnessed the play Antigone, one of the world-renowned tragedies by the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles. The play deals with the theme of civil disobedience, fidelity and human wisdom.

Two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices die fighting each other for the throne of Thebes. Creon, the new ruler of Thebes, declares that Eteocles is to be honoured, and Polynices is to be disgraced by leaving his body unburied on the battlefield. However, Antigone, sister of both the brothers, makes a counter-declaration that she will disobey the declaration since it is unjust, and will do the same death rituals for both the brothers.

Sophocles is an ancient Greek tragedian who wrote 120 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form. For almost 50 years, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens that took place during the religious festivals of the Leea and the Dionysia.

The play was staged by Mandala Theatre-Nepal that had been established in 2008. Its aim is to explore, popularize and preserve the traditiol and indigenous theatrical forms. It strives to develop itself as an inclusive and open space that encourages and fosters dialogue, exchange and strengthening of Nepal’s cultural diversity.

Rajan Khatiwada is the founder and creative director of Mandala Theatre-Nepal, a dedicated theatre artiste for last 20 years, and an activist in Nepal. He has received formal training of theatre and dance from Gurukul School of Theatre conducted by Sunil Pokharel, and received six month training in scenography from Denmark. He has been awarded Rastriya Yuva Pratibha Puraskar by the Government of Nepal in 2015, and his design of Mobile Theatre project has been highly appreciated in Nepal.