‘Misami’ staged in Kathmandu

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 28: A play in Dolakha Newar language has been staged for the first time on the stage of Kathmandu.

 The play ‘Misami’ written in Dolakha Newar language by Dr. Shyam Joshi was staged at the National Theatre under the direction of playwright Kedar Shrestha.

The play, written 50 years ago and serving as reference content at New York University Abu Dhabi, was staged in collaboration with New York University Abu Dhabi as part of the Dolakha Language Preservation Campaign for documentation.

Students from various countries studying at the Abu Dhabi branch of New York University had come to Nepal to watch the play. 

They had also studied and observed the process of play production. 

A group of students led by Professor Dr. Carol Genetti, who had done his PhD in Dolakha Newar language from California University about 30 years ago, came to Nepal.

The play ‘Misami’ or ‘Swasni Manchhe’ presents the family and social oppression faced by childless women, along with the love story of that time.

 Written in 1973, this play was staged in Dolakha on the day of Dashain’s Khadga Jatra of the same year. 

Currently, ‘Misami’ was produced by News Nepal for New York University– Abu Dhabi, and presented by Dabali Theatre and Theatre Mall Nepal.

The lead roles of the play, which features the joint participation of artists from Dolakha and Kathmandu, were played by Sushila Laxmi Maharjan, Bina Chakubji Manandhar, and Amir Tamrakar. 

Other roles were played by Sujan Shrestha, Annapurna Shrestha, Rina Chakubji, Kalawati Shrestha, Ramesh Bajracharya, and Diptanshu Shrestha. Director Kedar Shrestha was assisted by Dip Narayan Shrestha as a Dolakha Newar language facilitator.

Along with the staging of the play, renowned Nepali artists and director Neer Shah, Prof. Dr. Carol Jannetty, Hari Darshan Shrestha of the Dolakha Language Conservation Campaign, and playwright Dr. Shyam Joshi said that staging plays written in the Dolakha Newar language on the Nepali professional theatre is historic.