Kerala International Festival of Theatre Schools (IFTS) 2023

The sound of drums could be heard drifting amongst the trees, rivers and humidity of the beautiful campus of the School of Drama and Fine Arts, University of Calicut, Kerala. The sound was a calling, a gathering of students and teachers, practitioners and pedagogues to join together for the inaugural International Festival of Theatre Schools (IFTS) between 1 and 5 February 2023. As the participants are drawn towards the Prof. Ramanujan Studio Theatre at the edge of the campus, the source of the drumming is revealed: it is the Panchavadyam played by the students of Kerala Kalamandalam. The sound could be felt in the belly and the throat; it was so loud that it shook through the body, moving it whilst standing still. The banner of the festival was unveiled, the theatre fi lled and there was a buzz of excitement. The open auditorium (the stage and space for the audience blend with open entrances and exits to the outside) was suddenly packed with students from all over the world. When the drumming stopped there was a ringing in the ears and through the body. It was a fi tting introduction to a festival that would be lifted and carried on the energy of, and centred on, the students and their work. The campus itself was transformed by the students, with large pieces of theatrical scenogra-phy, light trails and wall paintings adorning the buildings and trees. The festival was a collaboration between the host school and the International Theatre Festival of Kerala (ITFOK) curated by Professor Balakrishnan Ananthakrishnan, Mr Deepan Sivaraman and Professor Anuradha Kapur under the curational theme ‘ Humanity Must Unite ’ . The concept of the programme was to present, share and collaborate around pertinent issues in theatre and performance teaching practices, curriculums and pedagogy from a progressive perspective. Teachers, students and practitioners were invited from international institutions to consider their practices and process with an orientation to theatre pedagogy. The programme, brilliantly conceived and delivered by a partnership of universities, 1 includes teaching demonstrations, seminars, expert practitioner talks, workshops, a Kathakali performance of Mazha