Indian theatre’s annual awards and festival gala – the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) - is set to run from 23rd - 29th March, 2023. Instituted by the Mahindra Group, the Festival announced the top 10 plays nominated across 13 categories which will be staged in the national capital followed by a glittering Red Carpet Awards Night. To celebrate the finest in Indian theatre, the winners will be felicitated on 29th March 2023 at the Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi, with luminaries from the world of theatre present at the occasion.
Both of the nominated plays for META 2023 in Marathi are namely Lavani ke Rang directed by Bhushan Korgaonkar produced by B Spot Production (Mumbai [Maharashtra], 1 hour 30 mins, Hindi/Marathi); and Via Savargaon Khurd directed by Suyog Deshpande produced by Aasakta Kalamanch (Pune [Maharashtra], 1 hour 36 mins, Marathi).
For the 2023 season, the Festival received 395 entries from across India representing Maharashtra, Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Manipur, and Rajasthan. Integrating inclusivity and diversity into the Festival as always, the final 10 nominations feature plays in languages like Assamese, English, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Marwadi and Tamil, among others.
The Selection Committee, along with the META Secretariat, viewed all the 395 plays submitted to compete. This year, the erudite committee featured playwright, author and former Editor-in Chief of Seagull Books, Anjum Katyal; academic, actor, director and stage critic Keval Arora; award-winning actress Neena Kulkarni; theatre director and former artistic director of ITFOK, Sankar Venkateswaran; playwright and theatre critic Vikram Phukan.
Speaking of the diversity of entries at META 2023, Neena Kulkarni, said, “From the northern belt to the eastern belt of India, like Assam, Manipur and Odisha, I have never seen this kind of theatre until now. It's wonderful to watch these kinds of plays. Especially the fact that this year, the Festival celebrates the country’s diversity and inclusivity which is just amazing! Here you will see an abstract mixture of history, mythology, the absurd and the experimental, women empowerment, comedy and many more. The theatre of India is as diverse as our country is, which is a benchmark in itself.”
Speaking of META 2023, Jay Shah, Vice President, Head - Cultural Outreach, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “META 2023 has lived up to the Mahindra Group’s annual promise of diversity and inclusion, spanning across a breadth of languages, themes and genres. We are delighted that the discerning Selection Committee, after 4 days of rigorous watching and careful consideration, has nominated ten productions that embrace and showcase excellence in stagecraft, and champion this art form that has been one of the world's oldest and most powerful forms of artistic expression."
For the full list of nominations, please visit www.metawards.com. The entire schedule and jury for the Festival will be announced soon.