The most-awaited cultural event of the season is on and tickets to the hot plays are flying off the counters. Here's what you can expect at the comedy theatre week, which tells you to 'Laugh all the way home'

With the onset of the slight Bangalore chill, there is one reason to smile and shed the gloomy mood. Ranga Shankara, the theatre space brings for the Theatre Fest 09, a bouquet of comedy plays, giving the play lovers a chance to indulge in some jaw-aching laughter.

Creators: Arundhati Nag, Founder and Creative Director, Ranga Shankara, with S Surendranath, Festival Director

Ranga Shankara has, over the years, become a cultural hub of sorts. It's not just the plays that attract crowds to the quaint open-air auditorium, but the feel about the place with its literary gems and their random ramblings. The same versatility is on display if you take a look at the schedule of the fest, with the best plays, all of which are being staged for the first time in the country.

"We take this opportunity to invite plays from all parts of the country. Comedy is an evergreen theme for theatre. Theatre has always banked on comedy to create masterpieces and pull audiences in droves," says Arundhati Nag, founder and creative Director, Ranga Shankara. "In fact this year we chose comedy as a theme probably to beat the recession blues," she adds.

Directors like Mandiya Ramesh, Swananad Kirkire, Prakash Belawadi are directing these plays comprising seasoned actors.

The festival, which is already underway, will be on till November 15, staging two shows of each play, with a Matinee show at 2:30 pm and an evening show at 7:30 pm.

Birthday bash
Girish Karnad will launch the website, http://www.shankarnag.in/, to celebrate Shankar Nag's birthday and his contribution to theatre. Karnad will also be awarding the winners of the intercollegiate theatre competition that was held on the eve of this festival.
On November 9

Haasya Kavi Sammelan
Haasya Kavi Sammelan will have poets like Dr Vishnu Saxena from Aligarh, Arun Jaimini from Delhi, Sarvesh Asthana from Lucknow and Dinesh Bawara from Mumbai to give you a dose of harmless mirth. The session on nonsense poetry would be held in Hindi on November 10 and in Kannada on November 11.
On November 10 and 11