LAHORE: Ajoka’s much-anticipated Dosti International Theatre Festival will kick off on Saturday (today). The nine-day festival is being held in collaboration with the Lahore Arts Council and supported by the Punjab government. The announcement was made at a press conference addressed by Shahid Nadeem, Suhail Warraich and Kanwal Khan at Alhamra Art Centre on Friday. Theatre groups from 11 countries are participating in the festival. Teams of international artists would start arriving from tomorrow. A group of 16 Indian actors would cross the Wagah border in the morning and it would be led by Kewal Dhaliwal. The group of Swiss artistes will also arrive in the afternoon followed by Al Limite group from the US. The opening ceremony on Saturday will include a performance by Wahab Shah Dance Company that will perform a dance on national integrity with a 40-member ensemble. A new Ajoka song and a new documentary, marking Ajoka’s 40th anniversary would also be launched on the occasion. Artistes from 11 countries to perform The second day of the festival would be devoted to the people of Palestine. Renowned Pakistani artists would join American artists to pay tribute to the people of Palestine. The programme will include reading of Gaza Monologues, testimonies of residents of Gaza, read by Faryal Gauhar, Hafeez Tahir, Ahmad Bilal, Aisha Bilal, Naseem Abbas and Sufia Humayun. American theatre activists Monica Hunken and Leah Bachar will join in the tribute. It would be the first time that American and Pakistani artistes would pay a tribute to the Palestinians from one platform. There would be performances by Laal Band, classical dancer Sheema and Khawar Ali Qawwal. Besides theatre performances by international theatre groups in Alhamra Hall 1, there would also be daily folk cultural performances and a theatre exhibition. The visiting artistes will also be holding training workshops and talks at various cultural institutions, including Government College, Lahore College for Women, Kinnaird College, Punjab University and University of Central Punjab.