Marionette magic at Tagore Theatre

Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, February 7

The seventh edition of the four-day International Puppet Festival, organised by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Tagore Theatre in collaboration with the Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust, concluded here on Thursday. 

Accomplished puppeteers from four countries, including Brazil, Iceland and Ireland, displayed their skills.

Morning show was held for schoolchildren from slums. Musical English puppet play ‘The Legend of Lowery Lynch’ was presented by the team from Ireland, under the direction of Tommy Baker. It described the story of a king based on an Irish myth. The king had a problem that he used to get his haircut once a year and this secret was known to the barber concerned only. The king threatened the barbers if they revealed the secret to anyone. Fearing punishment, all barbers fled the country.

Tagore Theatre Director Kuldip Sharma expressed gratitude to the audience. 

Play tickles audience’s funny bone 

Chandigarh: A comedy play, ‘Lottery’, was staged on the tenth day of the ongoing TFT Winter National Festival at Navrang Theatre here on Wednesday. The hilarious yet didactic play was based on a story of the same title written by legendary litterateur Munshi Prem Chand and was directed by actor-director Yogesh Arora for the Theatre Arts group. Structured in more than 75-year-old ambience of villages when the practice of lottery had just started, the play captured the innocence of the orthodox and gullible villagers who became obsessed to become a millionaire. Lured by the prize money of Rs 5 lakh, some of them invoked God’s blessing by praying while others did charity. The family of the chief landlord of the village turns vegetarian to please their deity for winning the lottery. Actors Rajiv Mehta, Yogesh Arora, Ramesh Bhardwaj, Sachin Sharma, Munish Kapoor , Tejbhan Gandhi, Priyanka Singh Sunny Sandhu, Yogesh Kumar, Satpal Singh, Lovepreet Singh and Nirjara staged multiple roles. The chief guest was Ravinderpal Singh, USA-based senior theatre artiste.  — SD Sharma