Started in 2011, Vasant is revered for championing unconventional Gujarati theatre and being NCPA's flagship initiative to celebrate regional theatre and connect with the growing community in the Maximum city.

The much-anticipated Gujarati theatre festival Vasant returns to the National Centre for the Performing Arts, NCPA. The three day regional theatre festivals is scheduled to take place from April 25 to 27, 2025. Expect vibrant line-up of original, experimental, and thought-provoking performances.

This year’s edition marks the festival’s return after a hiatus of several years with an eclectic programme that include new plays, spoken word performances, poetry, and workshops. The festival is also a tribute to the legacy of Gujarati theatre and its contemporary presentation.

Bruce Guthrie, Head of Theatre and Films at the NCPA says, "Theatre is the heartbeat of India’s cultural expression, and it is our responsibility at the NCPA to preserve, champion, and elevate these vibrant traditions.” He further adds that the festival will celebrate Gujarati language, stories, and artistic innovation. "This festival is a space where the past and present of Gujarati theatre intersect and where artists and audiences come together to rediscover the transformative power of performance. We hope Vasant continues inspiring new generations of Gujarati theatre-makers and reminds us of the cultural richness of this language and its storytelling traditions," Guthrie says.

What to Expect?

Next in line is a poetic and musical evening with Thodi Kavita Thodu Natak Thoda Geeto, presented by renowned theatre-maker Saumya Joshi. The performance blends spoken word, poetry, and music, featuring Mousam and Malka Mehta on vocals and Jigar Shah on percussion. It includes selections from Joshi’s most celebrated works, such as his Coke Studio Bharat hit Khalasi.

Another anticipated production is Patra Mitro – A Story Told Through Letters, Naushil Mehta’s Gujarati adaptation of A.R. Gurney’s classic Love Letters. The play follows Kalpana and Jawahar’s lifelong correspondence, exploring themes of love, loss, and the political shifts of post-independence India.

The festival will open with the premiere of the play Clean Bold by acclaimed director Manoj Shah. Inspired by Valerie Solanas’s radical feminist text SCUM Manifesto, the play centres on Vijee, a woman who dismantles the glorified image of men through historical and contemporary anecdotes. The piece reimagines Solanas’s anguish and provocation within a uniquely Gujarati framework.

The Fundamentals of Writing, a workshop by playwright and screenwriter Amatya Goradia will see interactive session, designed for aspiring writers, focused on shaping narrative ideas into structured, compelling stories.

There will also be a play titled Three Men, written and directed by Ankit Gor. A darkly comic and profoundly reflective piece, the play examines masculinity, emotional repression, and sibling tension as two estranged stepbrothers reunite following their father’s death. A female voiceover—framing the men as subjects of a wildlife documentary—adds satire and critical distance to exploring male vulnerability.

This year, Vasant also foregrounds powerful female narratives. Saumya Joshi’s Ohh Womaniya…!—a solo performance by Jigna Vyas—is set on a Mumbai-bound train, where a seemingly ordinary conversation takes a chilling turn. Inspired by a story by Ismat Chughtai and a real-life incident, the piece is amplified by choreography rooted in Kalaripayattu, created by D. Padmakumar of Pappan Dance Company.

The festival will concludes with a play Eklavya by Vipul Mehta, a timely and powerful drama about a cyber-security recruiter who discovers a self-taught coding prodigy from Dharavi. The play delves into mentorship, rehabilitation, and the deep human need for redemption.

When: April 25 - 27.

Where: NCPA

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