Bengaluru’s Chiguru X Kusumaale festival puts Kannada playwrights in spotlight

Bengaluru: For years, conversations around Indian theatre centered on actors, directors and performances. Bengaluru’s upcoming Chiguru X Kusumaale festival aims to shift the focus to the writer.

Launching this week at the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts, the festival celebrates new Kannada playwriting through fresh scripts, live productions, seminars and more.

Organized by Bhasha Centre, the event runs from June 6 to 14. It will showcase nine original plays developed through the Girish Karnad Fellowship for Kannada Playwriting. “It is a celebration of nine new voices on the Kannada theatre stage,” said Vivek Madan of Bhasha Centre.

The nine-day festival marks a deliberate turn toward spotlighting emerging writers and expanding Bengaluru’s theatre ecosystem.