Winners 2024

Facebook

Dreams From My Room

Chingtham Banikanta Singh is clearly not afraid to push his audiences comfort zone. The subject of Dreams From My Room, the play he acts and directs, is no less heavy than the deployment of child soldiers in the conflict in Manipur. Throughout, the play features multimedia projections of violent, bloody scenes from the war. Singh plays an aging actor whose own life was turned upside down by the fighting  his sons were themselves victims of a gunfight. He has now dedicated himself to spreading a message of peace through his art. Unfortunately he is frequently racked by the pain of his loss.

Singhs performance is hard-to-ignore, with powerful, emotional, angst-ridden moments. The script, written by Budha Chingtham, does not let up, with dramatic, hard-charging set-pieces depicting the devastation of the conflict on ordinary Manipuris.

Speaking after his performance, Singh said he chose the subject because the tragedy of child soldiers is often overlooked, but has caused much harm to his home state. He added that the opportunity to perform at META was something he was immensely grateful for and proud of.

Audience member Dhanjit, who hails from Assam, said he was glad to see plays from around the country perform on such a stage as it provided equal opportunities, for all actors to showcase their talent. His friend Vikash, echoed what he said, adding that it was a great opportunity to enjoy such diverse theatre and performances in one festival.

Leave a reply

Facebook