Sunakesharee to be staged in New Delhi Nepali theatre artists to partake in India’s National School of Drama’s annual jamboree

Feb 14, 2017- A team from Mandala Theatre in Nepal has embarked for New Delhi on Monday to participate in the Bharat Rang Mahotsav, where they will be staging the play Sunakesharee. Organised by India’ National School of Drama, this is the 19th iteration of the festival.

Sunakesharee, written by historian and cultural expert Satya Mohan Joshi and directed by Rajan Khatiwada, was staged to mark the inauguration of Mandala

Theatre Nepal, five years ago. Since then, the play has already been staged more than 70 times in Nepal and also at international theatre fests in South Asia.

The play features actors Dayahang Rai, Sirjana Subba, Bijaya Baral, Buddhi Tamang, Somnath Khanal, Bikash Joshi, Sulakshan Bharati, Srijana Adhikari, Mohammed Naazir Hussein, and Sijan Dahal, among others.

Based on a folklore popular in the Karnali region, Sunakesharee tells the story of the marriage of a young girl. Though she has a number of suitors, not to mention her own cousins who are determined to tie the knot with her, Sunakesharee picks a king. The play, then, unfurls with two different narratives—one, her married life with the king; the other about one of her cousins’ desperate attempt to win her back.

Packed with ample references to Nepali society and culture, the play, as Somnath Khanal, one of the play’s actors, says, will be a fitting play to showcase Nepal’s evolving dramatic tradition. National School of Drama is the alma mater of directors such as Sunil Pokharel, Anup Sharma and Bimal Subedi, whose contribution to the development of Nepali theatre scape has been immense. “To get a chance to perform at the stage of the school, which has indirectly contributed to Nepali theatre, is an honour in itself. We are really excited,” said Khanal.

The Bharat Natya Mahotsav that kicked off on Feb 1 will run through Feb 21. The Nepali ensemble will perform on Feb 17.