Theatre is an art form that brings people together to celebrate, challenge and provoke thought by telling stories. Theatre is live, and in the present world, art is consumed through live-streams, computers and so on. The city life and its habits miss that extraordinary atmosphere, the intrinsic beauty of the art-form and sense of grounding and presence that theatre gives.
With that in mind, the third edition of the Guwahati Theatre Festival is set to kick off at Pragjyoti ITA Centre, Machkhowa at 7 PM on Friday, November 16. With 4 plays set to be staged in the next three days, Guwahati Theatre Festival 2018 promises to bring to Guwahati world-class never before seen plays.
One of the plays, titled ‘Foreign Body’ is a solo act which has been hailed revolutionary, especially in the current context.
Foreign Body
Foreign Body is the beautifully crafted debut solo show by artist Imogen Butler-Cole about hope, healing and forgiveness after sexual assault. Uniquely told from the perspective of the survivor and perpetrator of the same assault, using a charged combination of verbatim, physical theatre and a stunning original soundtrack, Foreign Body is a brave, liberating and life-affirming story.
In the wake of 'MeToo', 'TimesUp' and the naming of The Silence Breakers as TIME Person of the Year, Foreign Body has never been more relevant or more urgent.
After being developed for two years, the play premiered at Southbank Centre’s WOW Festival in March 2017, had a sell-out run at Soho Theatre that summer and toured to Exeter Bike Shed, Hamilton House Bristol, Coventry Equalities Festival, Northampton University and festivals such as Off Beat Oxford, Brainchild, Clear Lines and WOW Exeter and, most recently, VAULT Festival in London.
Written and performed solely by Imogen Butler-Cole, the play has been directed by Fran Moulds.
The Guwahati Theatre Festival is initiated by G Plus in association with Ballantines. Powered by Assam Tribune and supported by Apollo Hospitals Guwahati, North East Small Finance Bank, XUV 500 from Mahindra & Mahindra, Servo from Indian Oil, and Outreach Advertising. This season, the Guwahati Theatre Festival has joined hands with Round Table India Guwahati Chapter GCRT 239 to promote and propagate the festival.