Further, in their attempt to generate cheap humour, some of the theatre troupes in the country have handled Moliere's plays lightly on the stage. However, there is more to Moliere's drama than mere comedy.

Influenced by the Italian 'Comedia Dell Arte' concept, Moliere established the neo-Classical French comedy technique to caricature the fall of morality of human beings through witty dialogues. Through the production of Bouder Pathshala, staged by Space and Acting Research Centre, the audience on July 13 at the Experimental Theatre Stage got the real taste of neo-Classical French Comedy introduced in 17th century.

Ashish Khondokar has adapted Bouder Pathshala from the English play The School for Wives. The latter was adapted by Miles Malson from Moliere's original script L' Ecole des Femmes.

In the play, Moliere satires the vices of the so-called fashionable elite--their jealousy and hypocrisy. To insulate himself from a faithless and conniving wife, Monsieur Arnolphe has raised a girl named Agnes in a secret house since she was a little girl of six. He gives her a book named Maxims of Marriage to read and learn the duties of an ideal housewife. However, instead of marrying old Arnolphe she desires to marry a handsome young man. Through the story of this trio, Moliere has successfully presented the follies of the elite society.

To generate wider interest, in his adaptation Ashish has used the colloquial language that we use in our daily life

Maintaining a certain pace and technique is the main ingredient of a successful comedy. This aspect was well handled by Ashish in Bouder Pathshala. The performers acted on the stage maintaining certain linear blockings. Like the European directors he even used a dwarf as a clown for his play.

Set designer Ashish successfully recreated locales such a rich man's house or a public square. His light design was simple yet effective. The costumes replicated the typical attire of the 17th century French people.

Mohammed Amin, as Arnolphe, delivered his lines with wonderful voice modulation and bold physical movement. Other performers also performed well.

Junaid Eusuf
A commendable set and light designer
Junaid Eusuf is a dynamic young backstage worker of the country. A regular member of Natyachakra, Junaid Eusuf is a commendable set and light designer. In the ongoing drama festival he has worked backstage in two plays-- Shoroshi and Bhaddornok.

Talking about his flourishing theatrical career, Junaid said, ' I was guided into theatre work by my interest in this medium. I began as an artiste with Natyachakra from 1991. Two of the few workshops that I have participated in were really handy for me--one under Norwegian Kurt Harmenson and Gunarson on set designing and another under S Deblin on light designing which were arranged by British Council in Dhaka.'

Talking about current trends in theatre, Junaid said, 'Very few people like to work as designers in theatre. Those who study drama in the universities are keen to work in the electronic media as designers. That is why only very few people are currently working for several theatrical groups in the country.'

Junaid considers Jamil Ahmed, drama critic and professor in the Drama and Music Department, Dhaka University, as his ideal.

Ershad Kamol