Without a villain in the story, there is never a hero! Elevating the importance of an antagonist in every story, Lakshya, the theatre society of Kamala Nehru College saw the seventh edition of its annual theatre festival- Concoction, unfold on the theme- ‘Main hoon Khalnayak’ from 17-19th February 2016.
With exuberant performances and energised crowd, Concoction was a non-competitive, three day theatre extravaganza which aimed at promotion of the spirit of theatre and performance above competition and contention.
The day 1 of the festival saw Aaghaz- The street play event, that involved the performance of complex and mostly political issue oriented productions at the college’s chaupal. From street acts based on Kashmir, Israel-Palestine, and religion to productions on mental illness, the event was a success at grabbing student attention. The production by SRCC, based on mental illness called-‘The defective ward’, stood out for the audience the most. The day ended with a dynamic jamming session by the Djembefola United group and also a mesmerizing performance by Mukul & Shenjit, who brought everyone up on their toes.
Mokshika, the President of Lakshya, the theatre society of Kamala Nehru College, speaking to us, shared that, “ We had a non-competitive Concoction this year. Apart from administrative and logistical hassles, for me, the spirit of theatre and performing arts is most important and Concoction was an attempt to promote the same. I hope the teams had as much fun as we did while organising the event.”
Followed by street, Day 2 and 3 saw Archlights- The stage play event, that was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. Colleges like Dyal Singh, SRCC, Sri Venkateswara, Ramanujan and Hindu shook the stage with their excellent execution, lighting techniques and prop usage. While Hindu’s production called-‘Characters Revolt’ talked about characters of three boys entrapped within the confines of a writer’s story and how they wish to rewrite it, Sri Venkateswara’s play titled-‘Veronica’s Room’ completely took the audience by surprise with its element of unpredictable suspense. Post some mind blowing stage acts, Day 3 witnessed Pratiyug, a sufi pop-rock band that galvanised the gathering with their electrifying renditions.
Alongside the main event, Concoction ’16 had two informal events planned for the day, Treasure Hunt and Quiz that gave the crowd an opportunity to win some prizes for themselves.
On asking people their experience of the festival, we received some great positive responses.“Art cannot be described, one can only experience it by watching, especially incase of theatre. All the performances at the event were such that no words can be appropriate enough to describe the beauty of theatre”, remarked Aakriti Sharma, a student of KNC.
Dilgrace Kaur, a dedicated Lakshya member shared with us her experience of organising the event. “Each day is a new experience. Learning, unlearning, enjoying and working. The 3 most awaited days of the year for any Lakshya member are the days of Concoction where we bring together all the talent in the town”, she remarked.
As the event drew to a closure, the teams took with them special hampers, love, appreciation and the sound of the resounding claps which had no end!
Image credits: Vedvanti Kasture
Riya Chhibber
‘Holi’ by Hans Raj College[/caption]
Dr. Manish Sharma, who also judged Intifada – the street play fest of the college judged Aks as well. Dr. Sharma is the Head of English Faculty of the college and a former convenor of Sri Venkateswara College. He said, “Street and stage theatre are two separate forms of dramatic art. Street focuses more on voice and subject whereas stage focus more on expression and matter.”
Mr. Satish Mukhatib, PhD in theatre from Jawaharlal Nehru University was the second judge. Mr. Mukhatib is also the head of Jumbish Theatre Group.
The plays performed covered the different genres of theatre. The Nerd by SRCC was a comical family drama where as Ek Rishte Ki Maut by Shivaji was a serious story of a post marriage relationship. The Dark Room and Holi by SBS (E) and Hans Raj College respectively talked about both friendships and betrayals.
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‘Nerds’ by Shri Ram College of Commerce[/caption]
The two best actor awards were bagged by SRCC for The Nerd. Vishnu Sinha and Mitali Mehul won Rs. 1000 each. Their team was also declared the first runners-up team for the competition. Cash prize of Rs. 3000 was awarded.
Shivaji College’s Ek Rishte Ki Maut was adjudged the best play at Aks. They were presented with Rs. 5000 in cash.
Mr. Mukhatib during the feedback and comments mentioned, “Theatre sometimes fails to cover each aspect. The plays that had played well with lights/sounds and acting skills couldn’t deliver the message and diverted from the topic. Others that justified the subject couldn’t impress with the external factors. No play can work only with sounds, lights, acting or the subject. A blend of all this is necessary.”
Image Credit: Anisha Shekhar]]> 
With the fest season coming to an end, each team had performed a lot in the recent past. But certain plays like Bas Samajhne ki Baat hai by Shivaji College left the audience crying. Their play was based on old age problems. SGTB Khalsa’s We, the people based on politics surprised the spectators with its different elements. Radhika, an avid follower of street theatre said, “It is great to notice that every play has some changes incorporated for their performance compared to the last one. With performances happening each day, this shows how much teams are working hard towards improving their production.”
Rehaayi by Hansraj Dramatics Society bagged the third position at the festival whereas the first runners-up team was Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce for their play Chidiya ki Kahaani. The winners for Intifada was Gargi College for their production Joota.
