Women take centre stage at Thrissur theatre festival

On Sunday, August 30, 2026, the Regional Theatre in Thrissur transformed into a stage for women's creative power during the Vanitha Sahithi's State Women's Theatre Festival. The festival, which spanned the day from 9.30 a.m., featured 14 productions, including a solo performance and four short plays. A significant aspect of the day was the inclusivity of women on stage, backstage, and in the auditorium.

The festival, inaugurated by theatre activist Sreeja Arangottukara, was particularly noteworthy as exclusive festivals for women in theatre were scarce in Keralam. Arangottukara recalled the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi's 10-day women's theatre festival in 1998, but lamented that no such prominent event had been organized since then.

Vanitha Sahithi's initiative thus marked a welcome return to a platform that showcased women's theatrical prowess. Arangottukara also highlighted the gaps in documenting Keralam's women's theatre history, citing the 1947 play Thozhil Kendrathilekku, which had been largely overlooked in mainstream theatre histories. The festival honored talented individuals, with Jisha Abhinaya winning the Kavunkara Bhargavi Award for Best Script and Ambika Velayudhan receiving the Shantha Devi Award for Solo Performance.

The festival showcased a diverse range of productions, including Fareeda, a first-prize winner in Vanitha Sahithi's State Playwriting competition. Fareeda, written by Jisha and directed by Vishnu Abhinaya, explored themes of migration, displacement, and identity loss. The play, set in the fictional village of Pilakkattiri, portrayed the struggles and hopes of its inhabitants, with Fareeda symbolizing resistance against alienation.

The festival was a testament to women owning the stage in performance, creation, and conversation, while also bringing to light a long-silenced chapter of Keralam's theatre history.