Continuing its tradition to celebrate the finest in Indian theatre, Mahindra Group is back with the 14th edition of the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META). The awards ceremony scheduled to be held on 12 March, 2019 will be preceded by the staging of 9 nominated plays at the Kamani Auditorium and Shri Ram Centre in New Delhi starting from 6 March. META recognises and felicitates the varied elements of theatre from such as playwriting, costumes, set, lighting, direction and performance. The awards consist of 13 categories along with a lifetime achievement award.
Articulating the vision of META, festival producer and Teamwork Arts head, Sanjoy Roy says –
“META is a celebration of theatre and stagecraft. A many-splendoured coming together of innovative stage design, original scripts, exacting performances and more, which is reflective of the present-day challenges that we see around us. The META platform showcases theatre from across the country, irrespective of language or theatrical style, bringing together the best talent in a week-long festival of movement, music and performance.
Indian theatre is a mirror to our society’s many issues as well as its politics. This year we have received over 400 entries from across the country, evidence of the fact that despite the lack of resources, infrastructure, sponsorship and funding, theatre is alive and kicking! In recent years,audiences have been enthused to see work which is well beyond their comfort zone and often in a language they may not understand.
Theatre has the power to move and transform audiences by presenting powerful arguments on difficult issues from different perspectives. Most importantly, it gives voice to those who tend to be marginalised.”
Here’s how the play lineup of this year’s META nominations looks like –
