Inspired by its namesake festival in Sydney, held in 30 cities across seven countries, Short+Sweet South India is a festival/competition for 10-minute-long theatrical presentations. The festival, which started as Short+Sweet Chennai in 2011, has been open to entries from India and across the world since 2014.
Playwrights, actors, directors and independent theatre companies are invited to participate at the festival. The performances range from dance-theatre to music-theatre, comedy and cabaret.
Several of the winning plays develop into full-length productions. In previous editions of Short+Sweet South India, the Best Play Award has gone to The Fruits of War, directed by Samyuktha PC (2011); My Name is Cine-ma, by Mathivanan Rajendran (2012); A Typist with Destiny, by Rajiv Rajaram (2014); Tale of a Tall Girl, by Sunil Vishnu K. (2016); Song of Love, by Sunil Vishnu K. (2017) and The History Boys, by Mathivanan Rajendrana (2017).
Audiences and a jury, comprising luminaries from the arts and theatre scenes, separately voted for their favourites. The crowds’ and judges’ top picks went through to the final, held during the fourth and last week. The awards ceremony honoured 16 Plays of the Day, three top 30 and two wildcard winners, as well best production, best director, best script, best actor – male, and best actor – female.
The next edition of the festival is between 2-29 September 2024.
Check out more theatre festivals here.
How to Reach Chennai
1. By Air: Chennai International Airport is 7 km away from Chennai city. Frequent domestic as well as international flights arrive here. Anna Terminal receives international flights from various major cities in the world. Kamaraj Terminal, which is at a distance of 150 metres from the Anna Terminal, has domestic flights connecting Chennai with major Indian cities.
2. By Rail: Chennai Central and Chennai Egmore are the main railway stations in the city, receiving regular trains from various major cities of India such as Bengaluru, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
3. By Road: The city is well connected with other cities in India by a road network. Various national highways from Chennai connect with Bengaluru (330 km), Trichy (326 km), Puducherry (162 km) and Tiruvallur (47 km). One can also use car rental services or state transport buses.
Source: Goibibo







1. Summer clothes to beat the humidity.
2. Comfortable footwear such as sandals, flip flops and sneakers.
3. A sturdy water bottle, if the festival has refillable water stations and the venue allows bottles to be taken inside.
4. COVID packs: Hand sanitiser, extra masks and a copy of your vaccination certificate are things you should keep handy.




