New Delhi, May 11 (IANS): The National School of Drama (NSD) on Monday announced a nine-day theatre festival here whose collections would be sent to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for helping the Nepal earthquake victims.

"It is the duty of performing artistes to come together and stand up for the victims," NSD director Waman Kendre said at a press conference here.

In the event "Nepal Sadbhavna Natya Aayojan", 12 theatre productions would be staged and various theatre groups have come together under one umbrella to show solidarity with the quake victims.

The festival will begin on May 16 and conclude on May 24.

A massive earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hit Nepal on April 25, killing over 8,000 people, injuring over 14,000 and rendering many thousand homeless.

Prominent theatre groups and cultural centres Bhartiya Kala Kendra, Theatrewala and Rangbhumi Productions are among those staging their productions without charging any fees.

"Within 24 hours, we decided to organise the event and chose ongoing productions around Delhi or productions that are going to be staged soon. We didn't have much time, so thought of selecting crowd-puller productions," said Kendre.

"It was very important for the artistic community to come together and contribute. I am glad that at such a short notice, we have been able to bring many stakeholders on board," he added.

Some of the popular theatre shows that will be staged are "Gazab Teri Adaaa" by Kendre, Tripurari Sharma's "Azad Maulana", M.K. Raina's "Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein", and Ramji Bali's "Koi Baat Chale".

As the intention is to provide aid to quake victims, the ticket prices too are a bit on higher side, considering the fact that NSD is known for offering best productions at pocket-friendly prices.

"The idea is to collect more for the relief fund and we are hopeful that people will come forward to support the cause," said Kendre.