CENTRE STAGE

REMEMBERING BOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN GREATS

Sawitri Shorts Theatre Festival 2026 follows up on the success of Aap Ka Khayal Aaya last year with a tribute to Rajesh Khanna and Anand Bakshi on April 26.

Sawitri Theatre Group presents the Sawitri Shorts Theatre Festival (SSTF) 2026 with performances every weekend in April starting from April 4.

New for this year they have Stories-told, retold, untold and a Pakistani folk-style comedy in Urdu.

The English Shorts boast adaptations of works of celebrated playwrights like Alan Bennett, Harold Pinter and August Strindberg.

After the success of its Bollywood nostalgia series Aap Ka Khayal Aaya… (Thinking of you...) last year, in 2026, Sawitri pays tribute to two legendary artistes, actor and superstar Rajesh Khanna and the phenomenal and prolific lyricist, Anand Bakshi.

The festival takes place at the Maja Prentice theatre, Mississauga.

“We are delighted to present the 9th consecutive year of short theatre works – The SSTF 2026!” says Shruti Shah, Festival Director of the SSTF. “We are proud that it continues to remain a platform for local talent, a stage to experiment, to innovate and to take risks. To inspire and be inspired and continue collaborating with local theatre artists and build our theatre community is what we love to do each year.”

Founded in 2003 by Artistic Co-Directors Jasmine Sawant and Shruti Shah, Sawitri Theatre Group is an award-winning, incorporated not-for-profit organization presenting original works featuring established professionals as well as emerging artists. Sawitri’s mandate is to educate, inform, entertain, and heal through South Asian theatre arts that foreground women and the new generation, and to highlight issues of socio-political importance with works in some of India’s many languages including English. Winner of the 2016 Martys Award for excellence in theatre, Sawitri Theatre is also the producer and presenter of the Mississauga Multilingual Fringe Festival (MMFF), the only multilingual fringe festival in North America.

When and where:

Maja Prentice Theatre, Mississauga.

April 4: Hindi

April 5: Stories in Hindi/English/Hinglish

April 11: Marathi

April 12: Punjabi

April 18: English

April 19: Urdu

April 25: Tamil

April 26: Aap Ka Khayal Aaya

2 pm and 7 pm. Tickets: https://linktr.ee/sawitritheatre