The 2025 International Festival of Theatre Schools (IFTS), hosted in Kerala at the School of Drama and Fine Arts, provided a vibrant platform for theatre students, educators, and practitioners from across the globe. Building upon the success of the inaugural 2023 festival, the event focused on sharing and exploring progressive perspectives in theatre pedagogy, curriculum development, and performance practices. A key element of the festival is the emphasis on student-centred learning and active participation.
Over 300 participants took part in workshops and teaching demonstrations, with student performances taking centre stage. Workshops for students run by international educators from Finland, Japan, USA, UK, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Poland, and of course India, included lighting design, intercultural theatre practices, 3D scenic painting, physical theatre, sustainable design, Noh theatre, Stanislavski’s active analysis and Indian folk music. Topics like decolonising theatre practices, the role of ethics in theatre, and the balance between tradition and innovation were central themes in the program of academic papers and talks.
NIDA was represented at the event by Dr Suzanne Osmond, Head of Academic Development and Research and three NIDA MFA Directing alumni; Pratha Nagpal (2023), Chinmaya Madan (2023) and Temuulan Jargalsaikhan (2024).
The enthusiastic engagement of students and faculty from numerous prominent international and national theatre schools underscored the festival’s broad reach and commitment to fostering cross-cultural exchange and collaboration among both students and faculty.
Alumni Pratha, Chinmaya and Temuulan share their experience from the festival.
Hear about the experience from our alumni
Listen on SoundCloud
