Kathamndu:

International Theatre Institute Nepal Centre organised a programme to celebrate World Theatre Day at Sama Natakghar Gurukul on March 27. Established in 1948, by UNESCO and renowned theatre personalities, the International Theatre Institute is the most important international non-governmental organisation in the field of the performing arts. It has more than 100 National Centres worldwide.

In this programme, Sabine Lehmann, director, Studio 7, was honoured with Dabali Puraskar for her colossal creative contribution in theatre work in Nepal for more than two decades. After receiving the award Lehmann said, “Theatre has been my passion to introduce the world to understand the world.” German being her first language, she initially found it difficult to express human behaviour in English. After 25 years of residence in Nepal, she has not yet done a play in Nepali. She believes that it is easier to express human behaviour in one’s own language and wants to leave the responsibility of doing Nepali plays to Nepalis. Receiving the award, she expressed, “Twenty five years of doing theatre in Nepal is a lot of time and it has been recognised today and this has made me really happy.”

Ludmilla Hunger Huber, set designer and actress, Studio 7, was honoured by ITI-Nepal for equally long contribution and active participation in theatre in Nepal. After receiving the award Huber said, “This long association with theatre work has opened my horizon not only in theatre but also in my life.” Satya Mohan Joshi, cultural expert, recollected the time when Nepali women were not allowed to act in theatre and even the role of women had to be played by men. He recalled, “It was around 1995 BS when Bal Krishan Sama had written Mukunda Indira and was looking for a female actor to play Indira’s role but Gopi Nath Aryal, a male actor had to do the role of Indira in the end.”

World Theatre Day International Message written by Víctor Hugo Rascón-Banda, a leading figure in Mexican playwriting, was read out in the programme. Banda writes, “Every day should be considered a World Theatre Day, because throughout the last 20 centuries, the flame of theatre has always burned steadily in some corner of the world.” He further writes, “We have to experience the theatre in order to understand what is happening to us, to transmit the pain and suffering that is all around us, but also to glimpse a ray of hope in the chaos and nightmare of our daily lives.”

Anita Tamrakar performed a Newari dance at the programme followed by the staging of the play Mayadevika Sapana.