Kolkata, March 1 (IANS): Headlined by thespians of Bengali cinema and theatre, an eight-day festival, that began here on Sunday, is showcasing diverse forms of comedy as well as evolution of the genre in Bengal's famed theatre culture.

The Kolkata Comedy Carnival began at Sarat Sadan here with a play by acting legend Soumitra Chatterjee's group Mukhomukhi. Veteran theatre director-actor Dwijen Banerjee and actress Paulomi Chatterjee are the other big names.

"In total, eight Bengali theatre groups are participating. They will be staging plays with duration of around two hours. The aim is to bring back independent comedy on stage," a spokesperson of Behala Nutan Dal, the organisers, told IANS.

Apart from family-oriented acts, there will be satires and black humour.

Prior to each play, a 10-minute audio play (shruti natak) will be presented.

On the sidelines, an exhibition of photographs and other artefacts has been put up to show the evolution of comedy in the Bengali theatre circuit.

The fest concludes on March 8 with theatre group Swapnalu's black comedy "Atithi".

The other groups include Purba-Pashchim, Blank Verse, Nandipot, Rangroop, Barasat Anushilan and Charbak.