THE YEAR IN THEATRE: A bustling year on stage
The theatre scenario of the country saw a bustling year in 2014, with a number of new plays being brought to stage by leading troupes, pulsating festivals and some productions traveling to prestigious events abroad.
The notable new plays that came to stage included some adaptations of classics – from Camus' “Outsider” (produced by Dhaka Theatre) and Sadat Hasan Manto's shorts (made into “Naamgotroheen – Manto'r Meyera” by Nagorik), while some were more contemporary and experimental works, like CAT's “Macabre”, Teerondaz's “Konthonalite Surjo” and Reetu Sattar-directed contemporary work “Dog Woman, Man” – which had the rather concentrated staging: 12 shows in a row at the Goethe-Institute, particularly challenging to the only three people in the cast. “Macabre”, meanwhile, was a lavish production in terms of budget, but failed somewhat to strike the chord.
“Naamgotroheen” was special in terms of its cast: Sara Zaker returned to the stage with it, while her daughter Sriya debuted with it. Aupee Karim, a once-regular of the circuit, also made an appearance. While “Outsider” featured a predominantly younger central cast, Aranyak Natya Sampraday's new play “Bhongobongo” saw veterans like Mamunur Rashid continue to stamp their authority – in writing and acting. Aranyak also brought out another production, “Swopnopothik” (based on the Rana Plaza tragedy). The other troupe to bring multiple plays on-stage was Swapnadal, with “Spartacus” and “Tringsho Shatabdi”.
But it was not just the Western classics that made it to the stage: BotTala's “The Trial of Mallam Ilya” that was the first play of the year, premiering January 1, is written by African playwright Mohammad Ben Abdallah, while Shilpakala Repertory Theatre's “Badh” was an adaptation of a Shawkat Osman short story. The last play to be premiered in the year was Padatik Natya Sangsad's “Poramati”, based on martyred intellectuals.
TheatrEX Bangladesh's new play “Dokkhina Sundori”, based on folklore of Sunderbans, was invited to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this year, while Subachan Natya Sangsad's acclaimed production “Mohajoner Nao” went to London late in the year to partake in Season of Bangla Theatre. On the other hand, of the theatrical productions that came to Bangladesh – Akram Khan's multi-award-winning “DESH” stood head and shoulders above all others, while Komola Collective's (UK) powerful play on war heroines – “Birangona” also had a number of shows across the country in December.
Like every year, a number of festivals happened in the year, notable of them being the Ganga Jamuna Theatre Fest (in early September) was the most illustrious, featuring three troupes from India and a Jatra troupe, and a number of other cultural organisations. BotTala's Rongomela also featured an exciting lineup of new plays, along with a solo by US theatre personality Kaiulani Lee. In terms of number of plays staged, Dhaka University's theatre fest at TSC hosted the most – 20, while Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy's (BSA) national-scale festival saw Shilpakala repertory troupes from all 64 districts stage a play. Selim Al Deen's 65th birth anniversary was also celebrated in a two-day festival, including a play from Bogra. Theatre practice outside the capital also remained active in Chittagong, Hobiganj, Bhola, Bogra, Pabna and most notably in Mymensingh, from where a troupe, Niravaran Theatre, arranged a festival at BSA.
One the most exciting news for theatre connoisseurs of the country came on November 6, when noted thespian Aly Zaker announced at a programme to mark his 70th birthday, that he was planning to come back to stage.
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