Mysuru: The eighth edition of the Mysore Science Theatre Festival (MSTF) will be held at Sri RamaGovinda Rangamandira in Ramakrishnanagar, Mysuru, from July 24 to 27 from 5 pm onwards.

The Festival is organised by The Mysore Science Theatre Festival Trust, in association with the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM), Mysuru, Parivarthana Ranga Samaja, Arivu Ranga and Kalasuruchi with support from Kutuhali-Kannada, a Kannada science magazine, Mysuru.

Mysore Science Theatre Fest will be inaugurated by IIA Director Dr. Annapurni Subramaniam, an astrophysicist of repute and a violinist, at 4.30 pm tomorrow with a violin recital. Neelanjan Choudhary, a noted English playwright and novelist from Bengaluru, will deliver keynote address followed by ‘Ganitha Kunitha’ by B.S. Krishnamurthy.

Every day before the plays start, programmes on science and scientists are scheduled. Besides exhibition of mathematical toys, books and posters on Indian women scientists, the public is also provided with an opportunity to view sun spots through a telescope.

The programmes held from 5 pm to 6 pm will feature special talk on how Astronomy dethroned humans (July 25), discussion on Indian women scientists in 2025 (July 26) and a juicy quiz on Serendipitous Science (July 27). From 6.30 pm onwards, plays will be staged on all the four days — ‘The Trial of Abdus Salam’ by Ridhdhi, Bengaluru, on July 24; ‘Hasivu’ by Arivu Ranga, Mysuru, on July 25; ‘Raman: Belaku, Shabda, Sidilu’ by Kalasuruchi, Mysuru, on July 26; ‘Moorane Kivi’ by Parivarthana Ranga Samaja, Mysuru, on July 27.

This Science Theatre Fest series began in the year 2017 when three amateur theatre troupes from Mysuru came together to stage plays with themes on science and scientists.

The fest, which initially staged translations of popular English plays, is now showcasing original plays on Indian science and Indian scientists written in Kannada.

MSTF has grown over the years as a model for Indian languages in science and theatre. Thanks to MSTF, twenty-one new Kannada plays have seen the light. Some of these plays have seen more than thirty performances and some a dozen. Prestigious institutions like Indian Institute of Astrophysics have come forward to sponsor the fest. Similarly, the plays performed at Mysore Science Theatre Fest have made it to many prestigious science institutes in Karnataka like CSIR-CFTRI, Indian Institute of Sciences, Institute for Human Genetics, including engineering colleges.