Mumbai: The Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), one of India’s oldest cultural organisations, will hold its annual theatre festival at Mysore Association, Matunga, from May 20-27. Two performances of ‘Kaifi Aur Main’ by Shabana Azmi and Kanwaljeet Singh are scheduled in Andheri.IPTA Mumbai’s general secretary Masood Akhtar said IPTA units from Punjab, Delhi, Jodhpur, Lucknow, Patna, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Indore, and Nashik will perform fresh plays in different languages on themes such as gender justice, labour rights, agrarian distress, economic inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, communal harmony, scientific temper and democratic values.Workshops on scriptwriting and direction, panel discussions, audience interaction, and networking forums for theatre practitioners are on the anvil.This edition is dedicated to the memory of IPTA’s former general secretary Jitendra Raghuvanshi, who strengthened the people’s theatre movement.Founded in 1943 amidst war, famine, and anti-imperialist struggles, IPTA pursues social transformation through theatre, music, literature, and the performing arts.
