Ranga Shankara

Ranga Shankara is one of Bangalore's well known theatres. It is located in the south Bangalore area of J.P Nagar and is run by the Sanket Trust. The auditorium, which opened in 2004, was envisioned by Arundathi Nag, in remembrance of her late husband, Shankar Nag, who was a renowned actor in the Kannada film industry.It aims to promote theatre in all languages and prides itself in lending out the space at an extremely low fare. It follows an at least “a play a day” policy, six days a week (except on Mondays). Its annual theatre festival brings to the city plays from across the country, giving the audience a good spread to choose from. Over 2,700 performances have been staged since inception, most of them in Kannada, though there have been plays in 20 other languages too.HistoryShankar Nag's dream was to create a vibrant, affordable, inclusive space for theatre and theatre lovers in the city of Bengaluru. After Shankar’s tragic death in 1990, Sanket Trust, with the help of friends and lovers of theatre from all over the country, worked towards building Ranga Shankara, a premier theatre in Bengaluru. In 1994, the Government allotted a plot of land reserved for civic amenities, at JP Nagar, to the trust, on a 30-year lease. However, due to lack of funds, construction only started in 2001. The entire cost of the project of around 3 crores. was raised through contributions, ranging from 5 from ordinary theatre lovers to big sums from industrialists. The Ranga shankara complex was designed by architect Sharukh Mistry and it was opened to the public on 28 October 2004.