10th Edition of META chooses the year’s best Indian plays to share a common stage

10^th Edition of META chooses the year’s best Indian plays to share a common stage

-          Most plays selected for META-2015 from North East region

-          Plays from across India to showcase best of Indian Theatre

With the advent of spring, it is that time of year when the best of Indian theatre is celebrated. Theatre aficionados can look forward to the 10^th edition of the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) which is one of India’s premier theatre awards, bringing together the very best productions from across the country.

The 10^th Edition of the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) has already begun to feature in conversations across art and culture hotspots, with theatre enthusiasts looking keenly at the list that META has picked for this year’s awards. The selection committee this year, comprising theatre stalwarts like Anup Hazarika, Deepa Punjani Krishnan, Sajitha Madathil, Sudhir Tandon and Vinod Nagpal have chosen 10 plays, from close to 300 entries, celebrating the rich diversity of Indian Theatre. 

Jay Shah, Head, Cultural Outreach, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “At Mahindra, we are committed to supporting the Arts to culturally enrich the communities we operate in. We believe in selecting specific Art forms and participating in their long term progress.  Our vision in 2006 was to celebrate Indian theatre by creating a national platform for performance and recognition. As we complete a decade, we are proud that META has become an institution of prestige for theatre groups across the country. For Mahindra, META is yet another expression for Rise for Good which is the overarching ethos of everything we do as a Group – making a positive difference in the communities we are present in.”

The 10 plays nominated for META 2015 are:

1.    A Straight Proposal; Dir: Happy Ranajit; Produced by Unicorn Actors’ Studio  (Delhi, Lang: Hindi )

2.    Aaydaan; Dir: Sushma Deshpande; Produced by Awishkar Theatre (Mumbai, Lang: Marathi)

3.    Chitrapata; Dir: Manjunath L Badiger; Produced by Samasthi (Bengaluru, Lang: Kannada)

4.    Dhou… The Wave; Dir: Gunakar Dev Goswami; Produced by Purvarang (Guwahati, Lang: Assamese)

5.    Dreams From My Room; Dir: Chingtham Banikanta Singh; Produced by Pan Manipuri Theatre (Manipur, Lang: Manipuri)

6.    Fall of a King- Burha Manuhor Babe Desh Nai; Dir: Palash Protim Mech; Produced by Oftas (Assam, Lang: Assamese)

7.    Kaumudi; Dir: Abhishek Majumdar; Produced by Riad Mahmood Education and Arts Foundation and Indian Ensemble (Bengaluru, Lang: Hindi)

8.    Matthi; Dir: Jino Joseph; Produced by Kathuparamba Malayakalanilayam (Kerala, Lang: Malayalam)

9.    Rage and Beyond: Irawati’s Gandhari; Dir: Sanjukta Wagh; Produced by Beej (Mumbai, Lang:  English)

10.  Still and Still Moving; Dir: Neel Chaudhuri; Produced by Tadpole Repertory (Delhi, Lang: English & Hindi)

The shortlisted productions will be staged at LTG Auditorium and Kamani Auditorium in Delhi from 21^st March till 26^th March 2015. The META 2015 Jury and the full schedule for the META 2015 Festival will be announced soon.

Delhi audiences will be thrilled to know that this year, after a gap of three years, plays from Delhi make a comeback to META with two delightful acts - ‘A Straight Proposal’ by Happy Ranajit and ‘Still & Still Moving’ by Neel Chaudhuri. The 2015 edition of META will showcase to its audience these two productions from Delhi along with two from Mumbai, two from Bengaluru, one from Kerela, two from Assam and one from Manipur.

The diversity of META 2015 is evident in the 7 languages represented in total by the nominations, with 6 plays in regional languages (two in Assamese and one each in Manipuri, Marathi, Kannada and Malayalam), two in Hindi, one in English and one bilingual play (Hindi + English).

Issues plaguing the society at large have always been highlighted at the META stage. This year, META nominees have highlighted issues like that of the LGBT community, concerns of Dalit women, the common man’s woes, problems in conflict zones, and economic concerns. The festival also features plays with contemporary interpretations of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, looking through these epics with a fresh perspective. META 2015 nominees thus offer a vivid, yet hard hitting showcase for theatre lovers, as some provide solutions while others open up new dialogues and debates.

Ravi Dubey, Creative Director of META said “The results reflect the ever increasing quality of theatre being produced across the country by groups that are hitherto not known at the national level, leaving behind some of the better known productions. This is a matter of great pride and joy for the theatre community in India. We are proud at META to be playing a small yet significant role in encouraging such theatre groups to come to the forefront.”

The nominated plays will be judged across 13 categories, making META the most comprehensive awards recognizing Indian theatre. Awards will be given for Best Play, Best Director, Best Stage Design, Best Light Design, Best Innovative Sound Design, Best Costume Design, Best Actor in a Lead Role (Male), Best Actor in a Lead Role (Female), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female), Best Original Script, Best Ensemble, and Best Choreographer. The META 2015 awards night will be held on 27th March 2015 at the Taj Mahal Hotel, No. 1 Man Singh Road, New Delhi.

Celebrating its 10^th Edition, a commemorative book on the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards was launched recently by renowned actors Shabana Azmi and Girish Karnad at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival. The tastefully designed coffee table book, ‘Curtain Call: Celebrating Indian Theatre’ chronicles the journey of Indian theatre over the past decade, as it unfolded on META’s glorious stage.

For more information on the nominees and full list of category wise nominations, please visit www.metawards.com

About Mahindra

The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise through solutions that power mobility, drive rural prosperity, enhance urban lifestyles and increase business efficiency.

A USD 16.5 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra provides employment opportunities to over 200,000 people in over 100 countries. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology, financial services  and vacation ownership. In addition, Mahindra enjoys a strong presence in the agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel, commercial vehicles and two wheeler industries.

In 2014, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000, a comprehensive listing of the world’s largest, most powerful public companies, as measured by revenue, profit, assets and market value. The Mahindra Group also received the Financial Times ‘Boldness in Business’ Award in the ‘Emerging Markets’ category in 2013.

Visit us at www.mahindra.com