What makes a place home? Is it the memories we carry, the people we find, or the freedom to belong without boundaries? These questions take centre stage at the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival (RSTF) 2026, which runs from October 23 to 31 under the theme Belonging: Through Memory, Migration and Boundaries. Bringing together six productions in Hindi, Ladakhi, Haryanavi, Malayalam, Bengali and English, the festival has been curated by five young theatre practitioners from across the city. It explores how people negotiate identity, displacement and their relationship with home.‘Belonging is about how we make room for one another’Sushma Rao, one of the curators, says Bengaluru’s diverse population makes the theme particularly relevant. People arrive carrying different languages, memories and ideas of home, but belonging is about more than finding one’s place in a new city. “Ultimately, belonging is not just about finding a home for ourselves; it is also about how we make room for one another,” she says.‘Bengaluru is a city that has assimilated people who have arrived’Sneha Kappanna points to the contrast between the city’s openness and its divisions. “Bengaluru is a city that has assimilated people who have arrived. Every new arrival brings a story, a culture, a language and a set of memories,” she says, adding that there is also “stark isolation and suffocating fragmentation”. She believes theatre offers a powerful way to examine who belongs and how people can cross over into another person’s world.‘We always wanted to highlight how broad the idea of belonging is’The festival’s six productions approach the theme through different experiences. Utthana Barighat, who worked on the programme, says, “The theme ranges from the impact of climate change and political borders to the deeply personal experience of losing one’s memories. We always wanted to highlight how broad the idea of belonging is.”‘Without a collective sense of solidarity, none of us will survive’For Surabhi Herur, the open call for applications reveals how widely the theme resonates. “Love, longing and care came up over and over again,” she says, adding that the plays underline how easily the right to belong can be taken away. She hopes audiences leave recognising the importance of solidarity across differences.‘Live theatre offers a sense of community that streaming cannot’“Streaming movies at home is easy, but it is completely different from sitting in a crowded hall watching a play live,” says Vinay Shastry, another of the five curators. “On stage, actors are right there in front of you — sweating, laughing and pouring their hearts out in real time, and you feel every bit of that energy.” He believes this shared experience is what sets theatre apart from digital entertainment, bringing strangers together through laughter, emotion and excitement.Beyond the performances, the festival features poetry readings, conversations on language and memory, letters from across the world, and interactive stations where visitors can share stories about home, food, migration and kindness.Festival scheduleProductions:Date | Programme | LanguageOctober 23 — Shyok — Hindi, Balti & LadakhiOctober 24 — Aada Aada Lakhav Hai — Hindi & HaryanviOctober 25 — Chevittorma — MalayalamOctober 29 — Hanskhalir Hans — BengaliOctober 30 — Porattu — MalayalamOctober 31 — A Fish Ate My Cat — EnglishAll shows have English subtitlesBeyond the Stage:Date | Programme | AboutOctober 26 — On Language, Memory and Belonging — A screening of Jaya Cherian’s film Rhythm of DammamOctober 27 — Chutuku — A collection of short plays by the Kannada theatre fraternityOctober 28 — The Many Ways Home — A reading of real letters on home, loss and belonging
