A father beseeching the system to return his son, a mixologist hiding his Dalit identity to serve a casteist society, and a village struggling to find ways to survive the eccentric diktats of its ruler — these are some of the works to be staged at the ongoing META-2025 (Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards). And, speaking to feisty theatre practitioners at the ongoing META-2025 offers reassurance that great theatre is about challenging how we think and aspire to be or as Stella Adler said, the play is not in words, it’s in us.

At a time when thespians are struggling to hold on to their independent voice, 10 plays in seven languages, shortlisted out of 367 entries across 25 States and 47 languages and dialects, underline the diverse and inclusive approach of the festival that completes two decades of commitment to quality theatre this year.

Have You Seen My Son at META Fest 2025.
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Based on the P. Rajan case, Kannan Palakkad’s Kando Ningal Ente Kuttiye Kando (Have You Seen My Son) depicts a father’s struggle to find his missing son. “A student activist, Rajan, died in police custody during the Emergency but the State denied his existence as his body was never found,” explains Kannan. The Malayalam play is an eye-opener for those who feel that the Emergency impacted only the Northern parts of the country, as Kannan captures the shadow of the dark days in South India. “Rajan’s teacher-father T.V. Eachara Warrier was also an activist and a classmate of the then Chief Minister. He kept knocking at the doors of the political leadership and the judiciary. But justice was denied to him,” Kannan adds.

Told through “real and surreal moments”, where a police officer seeks forgiveness from the father, Kannan says: “We have imbued the play with several what-if situations.” He avers the play has a contemporary ring to it as State apparatuses all over the world continue to save their skin at the cost of the common man.

 K.P. Lakshman brings out the social divide in an urban milieu in Bob Marley From Kodihalli, a dark comedy in Kannada.
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Usually, we talk of caste in a rural context, but K.P. Lakshman brings out the social divide in an urban milieu in Bob Marley From Kodihalli, a dark comedy in Kannada, where a mixologist working in Bengaluru changes his name after the reggae icon to escape derision. “The play is about how people are forced to conceal their identity in a casteist society and talks about how caste and food culture work in an urban set-up.”

Lakshman says this devised play is inspired by B.R. Ambedkar’s autobiographical work Waiting For A Visa and Rohit Vemula’s letters, and draws from Ambedkarite poet N.K. Hanumanthaya’s verse. “Set in a contemporary setup, it is the story of three Dalit characters from a village who work in Bengaluru. Apart from Bob, who works in a bar, there is a woman who teaches English and a stand-up comedian. These are people who have risen above their immediate surroundings and social strata, but are still made conscious of their caste and food culture,” he adds.

Akshay Singh Thakur’s Swang: Jas Ki Tas shows life in a Bundelkhand village.
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Akshay Singh Thakur’s Swang: Jas Ki Tas shows life in a Bundelkhand village that is struggling to come to terms with an eccentric feudal lord. Based on Vijaydan Detha’s story, Thakur Ka Ruthna, the folk play becomes a metaphor for the ill-conceived policies of those in power. “In the story, the Thakur orders the wells to be filled with soil so that water will come up. The villagers know it is a foolish idea, but they can’t go against the wishes of an elder, whom they, over the years, have been conditioned to worship like a god,” says Akshay Singh Thakur, a young theatre practitioner from Jabalpur, which is emerging as an incubation centre of fresh voices in theatre.

Akshay Singh Takur’s folk play Swang Jas Ki Tas becomes a metaphor for the ill-conceived policies of those in power.
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Bundelkhandi Swang (or Saang) is an endangered traditional folk dance-theatre form that uses entertainment as a disguise to show a mirror to society. “It uses song, dance, and caricaturish characters to make its point,” says Thakur, adding that the form is now being revived.

Sapan Saran’s Be-Loved is an exploration of queer love.
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Music, dance and sound art take evocative shapes in Sapan Saran’s Be-Loved, an exploration of queer love, and Abhi Tambe’s Portal Waiting, a depiction of humanity’s pursuit for freedom told through a conversation between a cyborg and the last man on earth.

Reflecting on theatre finding its voice in smaller centres, playwright Ashish Pathak, whose Agarbatti bagged four META Awards, says the economics of towns lends itself to a deeper understanding of the craft. “In big cities, the cost of hiring spaces for practice is punishing. In centres such as Jabalpur, people sometimes lend space even out of love. Most budding actors prefer playing parts that reflect their condition in their language over jumping behind a star in an OTT series,” elaborates Ashish.

Unlike in the past, when the playwright and the theatre group didn’t collaborate at the time of creation, these days, the playwright lives with the repertory. “He takes into account the demands and desires of the actor and the visual structure that the director could create on stage. Playwrights increasingly rely on poetry to shorten the dialogues,” says Ashish, adding “The meaning of a musical is no longer limited to songs. The sound of a sewing machine or tap water can also make a play a musical.”

Noted theatre scholar Bishnupriya Dutt, who has seen META becoming a significant signpost of the theatre calendar, says theatre is indispensable, for it is a live, people-to-people, and body-to-body performance. “It has an efficacy that no other art form has. META has not shied away from presenting plays that take a socio-political position. It works in a way that allows autonomy of theatre practice,” concludes Bishnupriya.

(META-2025 is on till March 19 at New Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium and Shri Ram Centre.)