Some will party the night away. Others will join the crowds on Park Street to herald in the New Year. But those associated with theatre will spend the night doing what they love doing most. They will be at a nightlong theatre festival to be held at Rabindra Sadan.

Six stories of Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay - the creator of Byomkesh Bakshi - will be showcased in the festival this year.

"This year we have chosen Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay as the theme. The six stories selected will span a variety of subjects that he wrote on such as history, romance, ghosts and crime. The plays will be directed by well-known people from Kolkata and the districts. The sets at Rabindra Sadan are being designed for these plays. Just before midnight, everybody will occupy the flight of steps leading to the hall and enjoy a session of music by Mohul Lokgaan'er Dol. This is how we plan to celebrate New Year," said well-known thespian Bibhas Chakraborty.

The theatre festival, known as Natyaswapnakalpa, began in 1999 when theatre personalities decided to ring in the millennium in a different way. According to Chakraborty, those associated with theatre had always wondered how to celebrate New Year's Eve. In 1999, the festival started at 3 pm with open-air plays. Later in the evening, the show would move indoors and continue till the next morning (with a break for dinner).

"Nowadays, we start at 6 pm. Every year, we have a theme. We have already covered Bengali playwrights from Girish Ghosh to Manoj Mitra and theatre in Bengali Literature. One festival was dedicated to Rabindranath Tagore. We also had a festival on 'Upendra Kishore Roychowdhury to Satyajit Ray'. One of our themes was the works of Ibsen and Bernard Shaw. Last year, the theme was 'Teen Banrujje' on the works of Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, Bibhuti Bhusan Bandyopadhyay and Manik Bandyopadhyay," Chakraborty said.

Every year, there is also a lecture session during the festival. In 2010, the speaker was poet Joy Goswami. This year, litterateur Partha Pratim Bandyopadhyay will deliver the lecture. Over the last 12 years, nearly 170 theatre personalities have been felicitated during the festival. This year, 17 contemporary actors, directors and playwrights will be honoured with awards which will include a token cash component.

The event will end with a performance by Bratati Bandyopadhyay.

Source: TNN, Dec 19, 2011