![A scene from play Macbeth, staged by Natraj Natya Kunj at Abhinav Theatre on Friday. -Excelsior/Rakesh A scene from play Macbeth, staged by Natraj Natya Kunj at Abhinav Theatre on Friday. -Excelsior/Rakesh](https://cdndailyexcelsior.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/page8-2-1.jpg)
Lalit Gupta
JAMMU, Dec 7: Natraj Natya Kunj’s highly stylized presentation in Dogri of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: The Crown of Blood, emerged as a fitting finale to the 22 day-long Annual Theatre Festival 2018, at the Abhinav Theatre, here today.
Adapted in Dogri by Karan Mehra, directed by Abhishek Bharti, and designed by Bharti K Bharti, the play was marked by characteristic eclectic idiom combining formal elements of physical theatre coupled with well-choreographed dance movements, masks, and rich costumes and props, which rendered a tribal context to the story.
The play with an emphasis on aesthetical light design supported by thoughtful live background music score was like witnessing a parade of aural and visual spectacles. The high pitch of dialogues all through the play, which left little scope for variation in speech, was complimented by well-choreographed (Rohit Bansal) energetic but extremely fluid body movements of actors both individually as well as in groups.
With Aditya Bharti as assistant director, the talented cast of young artists performed in unison that left a lasting impression on the audience who showed appreciation with a standing ovation.
The actors who gave notable performances included Kanav Sharma as Mani, Niharika Sakshi as Nanda, Aman Sharma as Bangi, Akshay Razdan as Sardar/Khabri, Abhishek Sharma as Kritvir/Sipahi, Lalit Sharma as Bhadarvir/Sipahi 2, trio of Priya Sharma, Anshika Sharma, Hema Shivgotra as Witch 1, 2, and 3, respectively.
The highlight of the concluding function attended by prominent personalities like Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Verma, veteran theatrist Balwant Thakur and Secretary J&K Cultural Academy, Dr. Aziz Hajani, was the distribution of production subsidy to the participating theatre groups followed by a bonfire.