Marking the 199th birth anniversary of iconic 19th-century socialist philosopher Karl Marx, a stage reading of play "Marx in Soho" will be held today at the Rehearsal Room 1 of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy today. 

Eminent thespian Mamunur Rashid will do the stage reading of the play written by American historian Howard Zinn, which is a fictional affair of Karl Marx's return to today's world. In the play, Marx interprets and explains the modern world in his own way, and speaks of the hardships and dreams of his life. Javed Hussain has translated the play.

Mamunur Rashid and Bangla Theatre plan to bring the play to the stage soon.

Karl Marx was a Prussian (German)-born philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist, described as one of the most influential figures in human history. As an adult, Marx became stateless and spent much of his life in London, England, where he continued to develop his thought in collaboration with German thinker Friedrich Engels and published various works, the most well-known being the 1848 pamphlet "The Communist Manifesto". His theories about society, economics and politics - collectively understood as Marxism – have since influenced subsequent intellectual, economic, and political history.