In a good news for the thespians of Lucknow, a five-day theatre festival ‘Urmil Rang Utsav’ is going on at the city's eminent UP Sangeet Natak Akademy.

The event is being hosted in the honour and memory of the seminal director, writer and satirist Urmil Kumar Thapliyal. The theatre doyen, who lost his life to cancer in 2021, was a legend in the world of theatre and is known to help revive Nautanki in stage plays. He is also extolled often for enhancing the culture of Lucknow's theatre and taking it where it is today.

Some of the notable plays written and directed by the litterateur include ‘Harishchanner ki Ladai,’ ‘Choon-choon ka Murabba,’ ‘Barkha Bahar,’ ‘Mahasati’, ‘Ladkiyan’, ‘Ek Chawanni Chandi ki’, ‘Nagri Nautanki,’ and more. They have all been produced on the lines of Nautanki.

Organised by Dr Urmil Kumar Thapliyal Foundation (DUKTF), this will be the second edition of the Urmil Rang Utsav. In a poetic tribute, the festival began on the veteran thespian's birth anniversary (July 16) and will culminate on his death anniversary (July 20).

Anybody can head to SNA at 7 PM to watch numerous plays, without any entry fee. The festival also began with the play ‘Aurat ki Jang’, originally directed by the late personality. His daughter, Ritun, is the director of the same now.

While the play, ‘Maharathi’, directed by Ritul Kumar Asthana, will be staged on Monday, here is the schedule for the coming days.

Tuesday - ‘Suraj ka Satwa Ghoda’ directed by Vikas Gautam

Wednesday - ‘Three Strangers’ directed by Anil Kumar Chaudhary

Thursday - ‘Model Vihar’ directed by Lalit Singh Pokhariya

Where: UP Sangeet Natak Academy, Lohia Path, Vipin Khand, Gomti Nagar

When: Till July 20, 7 PM onwards daily