Short+Sweet Theatre Festival to be held in Chennai in November

CHENNAI: After three years, the famous global festival Short+Sweet Theatre festival will be held in Chennai in November. The eighth edition is presented by Prakriti Foundation along with The Blu Lotus Foundation in collaboration with the Alliance Francaise and SPI Edge.

Festival director of Short+Sweet South India, Meera Krishnan tells DT Next, “We are happy to present the festival after three years. This year, we are collaborating with many new directors. In March, we invited actors, playwrights, directors and independent theatre companies to submit 10-minute plays. After jury vetting, we have finalised the directors for the festival that will be held from November 3 to 27. Fifty plays (a mix of Tamil, English, Telugu, Kannada and movement) will be showcased.”

Short+Sweet Theatre is the biggest festival of ten-minute theatre in the world, starting in Australia in 2002 and held annually in 30 cities in nine different countries. “This festival provides a platform for actors, writers and directors to create high-quality new work in professional theatre and a collaborative environment where established practitioners pass on knowledge to emerging talent in the theatre.

“The festival presents high-quality theatre in the form of new short pieces at affordable prices. This would help in developing new audiences for Indian theatre, and also encourage people to write for the theatre.”

The 11 best plays of the festival, seven picked by a panel of judges and four picked by audience votes, will make it through to the Gala finals. The festival will be held at Alliance Francaise, Chennai.