Mysuru: The National Children’s Theatre Festival-2026 is being organised under the joint aegis of Indian Institute of Educational Theatre (IIET), Mysuru and Jagannatha Centre for Art and Culture (JCAC), Mysuru, from Nov. 15 to 22.

Sima Ghosh, renowned Pandavani artiste from Kolkata, will inaugurate it on Nov. 15 at 5 pm at IIET premises, Hardwicke School Campus, JLB Road.

Special emphasis has been placed on key art forms such as Storytelling, Puppetry and Plays.

This Festival will provide a platform to spark interest in theatre arts among children and bring out their creativity.

Y.N. Rajesh, Education Coordinator, BEO Office, Mysuru; retired actor and playwright S. Ramanath representing JCAC and Sundaresh Devapriyam, Principal of Hardwicke PU College, will be the chief guests.

Veteran theatre personality Prasanna, also the Trustee of Indian Theatre Foundation, will be present.

The inaugural ceremony will also have a discussion on the book ‘Pandavani: Kathe Heluva Kale’ (Pandavani: The Art of Storytelling) by Shalom Sannutha, Sneha and Keerthi Byndoor. This will be followed by a captivating ‘Pandavani Performance’ by Sima Ghosh.

Events at IIET

Nov. 15 (5.30 pm): Festival inauguration and ‘Pandavani’ folk performance by Sima Ghosh;  Nov. 16 (6 pm): ‘Chinnada Kaddi’ story-telling session by Shivaram; ‘I! Phone’ storytelling by B.V. Shrunga; Nov. 17 (6 pm): ‘Snip Snap Snout’ story-telling session using puppets; Nov. 18 (6 pm): ‘Jobless Job’ by Clownsky Theatre Foundation; Nov. 19 (6 pm): ‘Katikati Kabbu Maiella Jibbu’ story-telling session by Mahadev Hadapad; Nov. 20 (6 pm): Mirage Melodies by Ujaagar dramatic association; Nov. 21 (6 pm): Papa Painter by Ujaagar dramatic association.

Events at JCAC

Nov. 16 (6 pm): ‘Pandavani’ by Sima Ghosh and ‘Sanntimmi Ramayana’ story-telling by Du. Saraswathi; Nov. 17 (6.30 pm): ‘Maleraya’ story-telling by Shivaram and ‘I! Phone’ storytelling by B.V. Shrunga; Nov. 18 (6.30 pm): ‘Snip Snap Snout’ story session; Nov. 19 (6.30 pm): ‘Jobless Job’ by Clownsky Theatre Foundation; Nov. 20 (6.30 pm): ‘Katikati Kabbu Maiella Jibbu’ by Mahadev Hadapad; Nov. 21 (6.30 pm): Mirage Melodies by Ujaagar dramatic association; Nov. 22 (5.30 pm): Valedictory and ‘Pippigondu Pappi’ by IIET team.

For IIET events, call: 96868-92255 and for JCAC events, call: 78990-33303.