Festival Gallery

About Thespo 27 Youth Theatre Festival

Registrations opened in July. Theatre groups from all over India are invited to register their plays for the festival. Plays could be from any part of the world, written in any language, and could be an original work or an adaptation. The only requirements are that the performance needs to be at least 60 minutes long, and that your team be 25 or under.

This year we received 95 plays from cities like Ahilyanagar, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Guwahati, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kathmandu, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune, and Vadodara in 14 different languages.

All registered plays go through a Screening process, where a panel of theatre professionals watches the plays between September and October live and select a few to be featured at the festival. The panel takes into account the story, performances, direction, and overall presentation of the play among other such attributes.

Last year’s panellists, Gandhaar Sangoram and Ujjwal Kumar, remarked, “The month of screenings was exhilarating; whether the shows were in Marathi or gibberish, a tragedy or comedy, the sheer talent that congregated from all over the country was incredible. The range and variety that we had the chance to see opened our eyes and ears in more ways than I could have ever expected.”

Once the screening is complete, a few plays are selected to perform at the annual festival. These plays are to be performed live at Prithvi Theatre during the festival week in December. In addition to the full-length plays, there are site specific performances and workshops and a whole lot of madness. Whether you’re performing or attending, the festival is a place to experience the creativity and talent of young theatre-makers from across India.

FULL-LENGTH PLAYS

Your ticket to a different place, a different time, a different world. An hour (or more) of pure drama at Prithvi Theatre!

Kuch toh Gadbad hai

Hindi & Marathi | Mumbai
90 Mins | Age 12+

When the city looks away, five street kids decide to play CID. What begins as a silly game to solve their friend's mysterious death slowly becomes an investigation into their own lives. A witty, moving tale of friendship, hunger, and the need to follow one's heart.

Tuesday, 9th December 2025 | 8 PM
Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai

WORKSHOPS

Your ultimate theatre starter pack, whether you're a newbie or a pro, the real drama begins here!

The Vatsala Chhibber Playwriting Workshop: Taal Se Tale Tak

Write your own play the Hindustani musical theatre way by Purva Naresh

Language has movement. So do metre and rhyme. Delve into the rich rhythmic traditions of India. Explore how rhythm shapes the drama, discover and dissect some incredible works and experience the storytelling energy of Nautanki and other folk forms where music and theatre meet. No prior experience is needed!

9th & 10th December, 2025 | 10 AM to 1 PM
Prithvi House, Mumbai

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Honouring the life and work of Vijay Crishna

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While the festival is all about showcasing young emerging talent, every year Thespo honours a theatre professional whose contributions have shaped the landscape that today's generation has inherited.

On the 8th of December we felicitated Mr. Vijay Crishna with the Thespo 27 Lifetime Achievement Award. In an evening of anecdotes, performed excerpts and stories, we celebrated the actor, the artist, the collaborator, the friend, and the mentor who has inspired not just young theatre makers, but all theatre makers.

It was a heartening evening, one that would not have been possible without NCPA and Bruce Guthrie, who allowed us to host this tribute on the very stage that Mr. Crishna brought countless plays to life.

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