Short, sweet experiments

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Probably, you cannot even think of completing a gossip session in 10 minutes. But the Short+Sweet Theatre Festival that is set to kick off in the capital from November 24 onwards has more than 40 plays that tell a story in just 10 minutes.

Initiated in Australia by director Alex Broun in 2010, Short+Sweet is a global organisation that runs more than 50 festivals in performing art space across five countries. In its third edition in India, the festival has evolved and is looking forward to new experiments. It is leaving behind the all-Australian association and is set for an Indian tadka this time.
Festival director Deepak Dhamija says that the shows this time have Indian themes. “Something like dastangoi that is a completely Indian way of storytelling is becoming a part of the festival for the first time,” says Dhamija and adds that other things like clown theatre will also be a part of the festival.
The Delhi Short+Sweet program is constructed in three phases — the Main Program where more experienced directors get an opportunity to present their plays a number of times (generally thrice); the Wildcards’ Program where less experienced or lesser-known participants get an opportunity; and the Gala Finale where the best works from the season are showcased and awarded.
Deepak says that another interesting feature this time is that a lot of youngsters in the Wildcard category have come up with their own scripts instead of adaptations.
Mohit Mukherjee, a Masters student from Delhi University, who is presenting his play Treadmill, says his play is about today’s lifestyle where everyone is running to achieve something. It originally had six stories, but has been condensed for the fest. “Only two stories will be presented in the festival, as we have only 10 minutes. But we are making sure to send out the message,” says Mohit, who also participated in the first year and caught the eye of the theatre fraternity.
Ankit Chadhha, who has written Dastan-e-mobile, a dastangoi that highlights the role of a cellphone in today’s time, is participating for the first time. A professional story-teller, through the festival Ankit got an interesting opportunity to experiment with the age-old theme of dastangoi. “The name dastan suggests a long story. It was an interesting idea to experiment with the traditional art form of Urdu storytelling by condensing it into a 10-minute play,” he says.
Ishwar Shunya, who was the winner in the last two seasons, is looking forward to winning this time as well. But more than winning, he says that it’s the platform that excites him. “Something like Short+Sweet is an invitation to the younger generation to the world of theatre,” he says.