Badal Sircar remained, in many ways, the outsider in Indian theatre.

On 4 April 2011, the Israeli-Arab actor, director and film maker Juliano Mer Khamis was shot dead in Jenin, Palestine.

At Palfest we have come as visitors, well wishers, writers come to a land that is undergoing great difficulty. I thought of the stumps of olive trees, a scarred field glimpsed out of the bus window one morning near Nablus. The Israeli soldiers had cut the trees because they were deemed to be a security risk. Whole families depended on the livelihood from the trees. 

Indian People's Theatre Association, IPTA is known for its rousing plays but not many of us are familiar with its strong tradition of protest through music. Sumangala Damodaran, trained in music has documented IPTA songs and reconstructed its revolutionary legacy.

Jana Natya Manch, a Delhi based amateur street theatre group was founded in 1973. In these 37 years it has has done over 9,000 performances of nearly 75-odd street plays all over India and abroad. Theatreperson Moloyashree Hashmi and Secretary of the group talks about "relentless continuity" in Janam's work and its future.

Dastan Goi performers Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain talk about the revival of this lost art form of storytelling.

There is no question about it. Globalization is changing the way we eat, drink, dress, think. Every day we see events taking place in New York, or London, or Sharjah, or Beijing beamed into our homes via satellite television. We find Hollywood films dubbed in our local languages and running to packed houses. We find beauty contests being organized in our localities, schools, or colleges. We find children asking for two-minute noodles, hamburgers, and canned cola drinks. We find autorickshaw drivers wearing T-shirts proclaiming ‘California! Here I come!’

An excerpt from the film "My village is theatre My name is Habib" by Sanjay Maharishi and Sudhanva Deshpande. In this Clip we see Nageen Tanvir talk about various kinds of jewellery and costumes used in Habib Sa'ab ' s plays.

An excerpt from the film "My village is theatre My name is Habib" by Sanjay Maharishi and Sudhanva Deshpande. In this clip we see Habib Sa'ab and other actors from his group 'Naya Theatre' talk about his directorial style.