The ever-expanding authoritarian mindset, the deeply entrenched forms of suppression and coercion, and a continuous dehumanisation of the exploited, create new spaces for acts of resistance. At the collective and individual levels, resistance is multidimensional. Through various mediums—written, visual, and the performative— individuals and groups resist according to their capacities and principles, driven by the dream to strengthen civilised society and enrich individuals. Such acts of resistance sometimes overthrow power structures and reconfigure the systems. At other times, they generate newer forms of violence and power dynamics. Artists and movements worldwide strive to create a just and civilised society through art to build cultures of resistance.
Brazilian director Iara Lee’s 2010 documentary film, Cultures of Resistance was one of the sources of inspiration for the 15th International Theatre Festival of Kerala 2025 (ITFoK 25) held in Thrissur from February 23 to March 02.
Organised annually for the last fourteen years, ITFoK is one of the most appreciated and favourite events for theatre communities in Kerala and across India. However, citing financial crises and the 2024 Wayanad landslides, the Thrissur-based Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi (KSNA) under the Department of Culture, Govt. of Kerala was considering postponing it this time. There was even doubt about the festival taking place this year at all. But, people from Kerala protested against KSNA’s plan. And, the festival, which centered around the theme of “Cultures of Resistance,” took place with the passion and enthusiasm of everyone involved.
A good theatre of resistance does not lie in sloganeering and the chest-beating deliveries on stage. Rather, it’s a subtle, reflective expression of the dissent. Though not all, a few plays at the ITFoK 25 explored the complexities of human relationships, the aesthetics of materials and bodies, the processes of research, and diverse ways of presentations, all while engaging with the idea of resistance. And some of them played with the theme itself—not just to reject or overthrow systems, but to dream, review and rebuild a civilised society through the broader understanding of caste, class and gender.
Except for one or two, the plays presented throughout the festival did not stand out for their grandeur and pomp. Many of the young directors were not enthused by the overtly elaborate and complex staging, lighting and scenography that would exhaust viewers’ eyes. Rather, they displayed their eagerness in telling stories — unsettling yet inspiring — rather than dazzling the audience with spectacle. Anurupa Roy from Delhi, known for experimenting with puppets, narrated interwoven stories of desire and power in The Nights through a play of light and shadow, text and manipulation of puppets centered on Scheherazade — the storyteller of The Arabian Nights. It was distinct in its fluid dramaturgy, layered dialogues and subtext created through the writing for puppets by the talented writers, Neel Chaudhary and Aditi Rao. Generally, puppet theatre is perceived as presenting dolls for entertainment at cultural events. However, Anurupa, while approaching one of the oldest story-telling traditions, asked a few challenging questions: What does it mean to gain control over someone? What happens to a society and individuals when power falls into the hands of a few who begin manipulating all systems for control? How is dissent expressed? Further, The Nights explored the conflict between the puppets and their manipulators—a narrative worth hearing. Who is the storyteller between the two? The one being played or the one playing? Who dominates whom? These questions provoked deep reflection.
Similarly, the play Hayavadana, written by Girish Karnad and directed by Neelam Mansingh Chaudhary, addressed another kind of duality, of mind and body. The subtitles did not function during the Hayavadana performance, disappointing a large number of non-Hindi-understanding audience members. However, Deepan Shivaraman compensated for the language shortfall with an arresting scenography with a truck on stage and other compelling stage visuals. A standout feature of this play was the confident acting by talented actors Ajit Singh Palawat and Ipsita Chakravarty Singh, alongside the singers and musicians seated on the truck—particularly the players of raw, gritty and powerful sounds of saxophone.
Another memorable production for its apt and piercing scenography was Amal, an Arabic play from Iraq, written and directed by Dr. Jawed Al-Asadi. At 76, Asadi is a significant figure in Iraqi theatre. While he could not attend the festival in person, his two-character play stunned nearly thousand spectators seated in Actor Murali Theatre with its theatrical depiction of the devastation of humanity in a war-torn society. In the play, a couple is trapped in their home amidst the horrors of war and immense psychological trauma. In this situation, the pregnant wife no longer wishes to give birth to her child. The play raised profound questions about good and evil, morality and immorality, justice and injustice. With the set depicting a crumbling house—utilizing the full height of the stage—water spread across the floor, books falling in the water from a huge angled shelf, intersecting beams of light, and the couple shrouded in dark shadows, this play will linger in a viewer’s memory for a long time. Alongside Iraq, plays from Hungary, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and Russia participated in the festival. Russia’s St. Petersburg State– A theatre company– presented Poor Liza, a play based on a short novel by Russian writer, Nikolai Karamzin. It is a story of two lovers from different social strata. Though its presentation was not particularly striking, it stood out because of the tender yet resolute character of Liza in it, who asserts herself without being the shrill voice of dissent.
Of the fifteen plays in the festival, eight were directed by women. Most of them belonged to a new generation: Sapan Saran (Mumbai), Sharanya Ramprakash (Bengaluru), Reema Kallingal (Thiruvananthapuram), Arpita Dhagat (Ahmedabad), Sofia Berkzi (Hungary), and Ruwanthie De Chickera (Sri Lanka). These women tackled subjects rarely addressed in mainstream theatre or entertainment media, presenting research-based theatrical innovations.
Sapan Saran, co-founder of Mumbai’s Tamasha Theatre and a playwright-director known for her idea-centric artistic explorations, captivated the festival with her play, Be-Loved, exploring the lives of the LGBTQ+ community with a distinctive approach. Rather than sentimentalizing the marginalized community and sensationalizing the topic, Sapan offered a critical perspective on humanity and relationships shaped by gender differences, while still entertaining the audience. With nuanced writing, and a unique style of seamlessly shifting scenes and powerful performers, the play unsettled viewers. Using humor and satire to present sharp resistance, it compelled the audience to think, resist and be optimistic. After three house-full performances, a fourth show of Be-Loved was scheduled to fulfill popular demand.
Sri Lanka’s Ruwanthie De Chickera presented Sri Lanka’s history through seven scenes in Dear Children Sincerely: Seven Decades of Sri Lanka. In a chronological and linear narrative, the play offered a multilayered understanding of Sri Lankan society and politics through storytelling, dance, and music. Alongside studying history from the various documented sources, Ruwanthie incorporated interviews with people born in different eras into her play. Addressing issues such as identity politics, extremist organizations, Tamil-Sinhala conflicts, the economy, and cricket, the play explored the complex interplay between nation-building, society, and individuals.
The process of playmaking was as crucial in Ruwanthie’s work as it was for Bengaluru’s Sharanya Ramprakash, who has directed distinctive plays like Akshayambara and Nava. In her most recent play Project Darling, Sharanya presents the story of a group of performers’ search of Khanavali Chenni, an actress once famous on the Kannada stage for double-meaning dialogues and “vulgar” performances. What do the performers searching for Khanavali Chenni—who boldly expressed her sexuality—uncover? They find that her name has been erased from history. Khanavali Chenni uttered what should not have been uttered and kept doing “unaccepted” work in a “cultured” society—this was her rebellion. The play portrays Chenni’s daring and irreverent humor, and the direct and indirect censorship imposed upon her. However, the search for Chenni in the play wasn’t limited to Chenni but it grew into becoming a story of countless women whose identities have been erased in the “cultured” society. In patriarchal Indian society, Project Darling poses the question, “Who decides what is vulgar?” Thus, for the Project Darling team, the play and its collaborative making-process became a space to express resistance and reclaim a rightful place for the silenced voices.
Significantly, the plays by female directors and artists were not just about gender-based systems and exploitations. Through the presentations of diverse perspectives, evolving societies, and complex politics; they revealed the multilayered dynamics of power. Alongside playwrights and directors, performers like Kruti Pant, Matangi Prasanna, Surabhi Vasishtha, Reema Kallingal, Ayusha Thakur, Kalyani Mulay, Prerna, and several others — keenly aware of the theatrical space—portrayed various forms of resistance on stage. Beyond this, women were involved behind the scenes throughout the festival—managing logistics, handling production, organizing and taking care of discussions with artists, coordinating with the media, preparing and distributing daily newsletters, and many other things.
The festival was inaugurated in the presence of Nasser, a renowned South Indian actor who began his journey in theatre. His directorial debut film Avatharam is based on the life of an actor from the Therukoothu street theatre tradition of South India. However, this festival that he inaugurated did not feature street theatre—a vital expression of resistance in theatre and society—nor did it spark discussions about it. Plays by IPTA, Safdar Hashmi, Utpal Dutt, Badal Sarkar, those from the Dalit movement, songs of Sambhaji Bhagat, Ramu Ramanathan’s plays, and Sunil Shanbag’s directorial work were absent. Discussions about how the nature of resistance has evolved, how socio-political movements strongly anchored in performance practices have weakened, and how theatre in social movements has increasingly been appropriated by NGOs, were missing from the overall conceptualisation and planning of the festival. Cultures of resistance haven’t been limited to one or two theatrical experiments; they have emerged through the gradual inroads of theatre practices in society and the dissemination of relevant ideas. In this context, a discussion about Atul Pethe’s Ringan theatre movement spread across cities and villages in Maharashtra, and the similar experiments across India could have illuminated the festival. A panel discussion or a round table on political theatre or on censorship and freedom of expression didn’t find a place in the festival’s schedule. All these ‘no’ things existed during the festival because it lacked the well-thought-through conceptual framework and research required for its curation. Unlike previous editions, the ITFoK25 did not have a curator to weave a concept and presentations of plays.
However, what stood out despite these conceptual and technical shortcomings was the responsible audience, the rasik. The ITFoK 25 was graced by the rasikas who enjoyed the plays and the discussions around them with joy, seriousness, and a rasik-vrutti. Neither the intense heat, humidity, malfunctioning air conditioners, nor mobile issues in the auditorium could distract rasikas from appreciating the plays.
As theatre festivals in India dwindle day by day and restrictions on freedom of expression grow under the influence of rigid, narrow-minded ideologies, the International Theatre Festival of Kerala 2025 in Thrissur about the cultures of resistance was a glimmer of hope.
Images: Courtesy of Sharanya Ramprakash, Sapan Saran and Ashutosh Potdar.