Mysuru Science Theatre Festival from July 24

The eighth edition of Mysore Science Theatre Festival will be held in Mysuru from July 24 to 27.

The festival will be held at Sri Ramagovinda Rangamandira in Ramakrishna Nagar, and it will start daily at 5 p.m. onwards. It is organised by The Mysore Science Theatre Festival Trust in association with the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, and Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, Mysuru.

Annapurni Subramaniam, astrophysicist and violinist, will inaugurate the event at 4.30 p.m. with a violin recital. Neelanjan Choudhary, English playwright and novelist from Bengaluru, will deliver the keynote address on science and science plays.

The daily programmes before plays (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.) include exhibition of mathematical toys, books, and posters on Indian women scientists, besides telescope viewing of sun spots. Special sessions include Talk on How Astronomy dethroned humans on July 25, discussion on Indian Women Scientists in 2025 on July 26, and quiz on Serendipitous Science on July 27.

The festival was started in 2017 by three amateur theatre troupes from Mysuru who came together to stage plays focusing on science and scientists.

Initially, they staged translated English plays, now produces original Kannada plays on Indian science and scientists. The plays have been staged more than thirty times and reached prestigious institutions like CSIR-CFTRI, Indian Institute of Science, Institute for Human Genetics, and several engineering colleges.

The organisers are Parivartana Ranga Samaja, Arivu Ranga, and Kalasuruchi, with support from Kutuhali-Kannada (Kannada science magazine) and Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, Mysuru. The Indian Institute of Astrophysics has sponsored the festival, said a note.