This ABHINAYA THEATRE RESEARCH CENTRE NGO charity is working on Key Issues of Art & Culture

Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal

About Abhinaya In 1992, when a group of theatre enthusiasts decided to work together under a common platform for the realization of immense potential of theatre as well as to enrich their own lives through the medium, Abhinaya was born. Among those dreamers, D Reghoothaman and S Ajayan pursued it more with endurance and perseverance. The group’s dedication and creative force were recognized at once for nothing less than the State Sangeet Natak Academy’s Award for the Best Director came its way to Abhinaya in the next year itself. Several more laurels from the Academy proved its consistency of creativity. Recapturing the imagination of theatre going population of South Kerala, Abhinaya successfully conducted four theatre festivals. Many institutions like Dept. of Culture (Govt. of India), Sangeet Natak Academy, Ministry of HRD, Footsbarn Traveling Theatre, France, Dept. of Public Relations (Govt. of Kerala), Alliance Française, Living Theatre Group, New York and Arts Humanities Research Board UK and University of East Anglia, UK realized the relevance and role of Abhinaya. With its noteworthy play productions, Abhinaya was lauded at various theatre festivals including Villeneuve en Scene-Avignon Festival, France (2007) Festival de Alamada, Portugal (2000); Bharat Rang Mahotsav, New Delhi (2000, 2003, 2004 2009, 2010); Rang- Swarn, New Delhi (2003); and Prithvi Theatre Festival, Mumbai (2003, 2006). Abhinaya’s artistic director Jyothish M G has been awarded the Sanskriti Pratishtan Award in the field of theatre for the year 2009 and he was invited by the British Council to attend the prestigious Edinburgh International Festival in August 2009. The 50 plus list of play productions of the group range from Street plays to Puppet plays and Mime plays to Children’s plays and short plays to major play productions.. Many eminent theatre directors from different parts of the country have led play productions and workshops for Abhinaya. Every four months a new batch of students find their way to Abhinaya for a short term course on drama, which is being conducted in association with Jan Shikshan Sansthan-an institution for non formal education under the Ministry of HRD. We are involved not only in fruitful research in finding new theatrical expressions but to evolve a performance style blending India’s rich traditional traits with the latest trends in dramaturgy. Pushing the line of quality of play productions higher and thereby acquiring a greater support and participation from the people has always been Abhinaya’s one of prime concerns. As a socially responsible theatre collective, we intervene in issues of social and political importance through our medium. Abhinaya proposes to establish a Theatre Village at Plathara, in the outer skirts of Thiruvananthapuram. With theatre school, traditional/modern performing space, cottages, research wing, library, studios for sculptors/painters/musicians, space for the artistically inclined marginalized sections of society and community farming, the proposed village would reflect Abhinaya’s all encompassing approach to theatre and life. The social art of theatre and community life would find a rare harmony at Abhinaya Theatre Village.