The inaugural play for this four-day festival was Atirikta Akash, written and directed by Malla himself and per­formed by Avineet Malla. Set in Nepal with the very current theme of a husband’s expla­nation to the prison guard as to why he killed the man who raped his wife, this play, preceded by the opening cere­mony, attracted such a crowd there were people standing three deep at the entrance.

 

“Two years ago at Festival Theatertage, Germany, Ashesh Malla met Michael Woodwood and the idea of this solo the­atre festival in Kathmandu was born,” Britta Lutz of Förderv­erein Theatertage said. So it was fitting that Woodwood’s play ‘The Coat’ premiered in Kathmandu. Performed by Sioned Jones of Arcati Produc­tions, London, the play was directed by Woodwood him­self. Jones gave a magnificent performance, which followed the path of a coat that brought its various owners life-chang­ing adventures. Using French, German, English, songs, and mime, the audience was transported from Paris to the Titanic, to the Wall Street, through the First World War, and eventually back to Paris. Jones received a standing ova­tion for her outstanding and very convincing performance of more than half a dozen characters.

 

The audience was then jolted to the iPhone factory in Shanghai. Directed by Zhao Chaun and performed ener­getically by Wu Jiamin, from Grass Stage, ‘Jump’ asked the question ‘is one man’s youth the Youth?’ At the other end of the age spectrum was a play, also written especially for this festival, ‘The Chairs were Moved to Give Me Passage’. Directed by Alan Lyddiard of The Performance Ensemble, UK, Tamara McLorg showed various true snapshots of her life as a performer in Africa, Europe and South America. The play touchingly explained through narration and mime how time moves on from life as a young performer through to the present day as a mature performer and performing arts mentor. “This is a work in progress, and I will add to it my experience in Kath­mandu, and the generosity and warmth of the people I have met here,” said McLorg.

 

With the majority of the visiting artists giving back through working with youths or within a human rights set­ting, it was fitting that the experimental performance by Bhoomika Tharu highlighted the plight of young girls in her community. Despite her very young years, Tharu gave a stunning performance as a Kamlari (slave) girl. As a stu­dent of Sarwanam Theater, for this production, Tharu worked with director Maxime from France. “I told Bhoom­ika, I am not the teacher, rather it is she who has taught me through this whole experi­ence.” For information on Sar­wanam Theater’s upcoming productions, visit sarwanam. org.np.