Renowned Manipuri theatre legend Ratan Thiyam will be posthumously conferred the Sumitra Charat Ram Award for Lifetime Achievement 2025 at a ceremony organised by the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) at Kamani Auditorium today, officials said. The honour recognises his decades-long contribution to widening the aesthetic, spiritual and philosophical horizons of modern Indian theatre.

Instituted in 2010 to celebrate artists dedicated to lifelong excellence in the arts, the award ceremony will begin at 6.30 pm on November 17, coinciding with the birth anniversary of SBKK founder Sumitra Charat Ram. This year’s event returns to Kamani Auditorium, a cultural space envisioned by Ram as an inclusive platform for diverse artistic expression.

A playwright, director, designer, actor and philosopher, Thiyam spent more than five decades redefining the vocabulary of contemporary Indian theatre. As the founder of Chorus Repertory Theatre in Imphal in 1976, he developed a unique performance style blending Manipuri dance, martial arts, ritualistic elements, music and striking visual design, while maintaining a universal emotional depth.

His works, often rooted in classical Indian philosophy and modern existential questions, earned critical acclaim worldwide. His iconic production Chakravyuha, based on Abhimanyu’s entrapment, remains one of the most celebrated pieces in Indian theatre, touring internationally and reshaping global perceptions of Indian performance. Other landmark productions such as Uttar Priyadarshi, Andha Yug and Chinglon Mapan Tampak Ama showcased his mastery of bold compositions, choreographed stillness and evocative visual storytelling.