Unstinting passion for theatre

Young theatre actor-director Anowarul Haque is a member of the theatre wing of cultural organisation Udichi. He stepped into the Bangladeshi theatre scene in 1997 via a three-month workshop organised by Udichi's theatre troupe. Anowar first performed in the Udichi play “Shubhro Timir” in 1998. The young talent made his debut as a director with Aikik Theatre's production “Drop Out” last year.
Recently Anowar talked to The Daily Star about his career and passion for theatre.
Anowar was born and brought up in Dhaka. “My family, especially my father, always inspires me and gives priority to my interest in the medium,” said Anowar.
Explaining his motivation to become a theatre activist, he said, “As a youngster I saw that cultural activists were highly respected. My reasoning was that if I wanted to do something for my country, it should be through cultural activities. Secondly, whenever I saw programmes at the Central Shaheed Minar premises, I dreamed of performing there.”
Anowar has earned plaudits for his laborious and talented performances in Udichi plays such as “Freedom of the City” (directed by Ashish Khandakar), “Bou Bashanti” and “Half Akhrai” (both directed by Azad Abul Kalam), and in Akhtaruzzaman Ilias' “Chilekothar Shepai” (directed by Kamaluddin Kabir).
Apart from Udichi productions, Anowar also performed in “Ahor Kandol”, a repertory production of Janmoshutra.
As a director, Anowar earned accolades for his debut work “Drop Out”. The play is a reflection of present-day social inconsistencies. Through the play, Anowar tries to de-construct the contemporary social structure. He said, “In some sequences, the play narrates my own crisis.”
Anowar's protagonists in the play seek to live coherently but often find themselves at cross-purposes, a symbolic representation of the society. Through their conversations it appears that they live in a society where people do not laugh. “Why don't people laugh nowadays?” questions one character. “They don't want to,” responds another.
“We are gradually becoming socially detached from one another. I wanted to depict this in my play. The direction in which society is moving does not seem okay to me,” he added.
On the current theatre scenario, Anowar finds that young activists are not disciplined about rehearsals. The reading habit too, he adds, is on the wane. “To do 'Chilekothar Shepai', we had to read a lot of Ilias' writings. I'm not sure we follow this path comprehensively nowadays. The practice of reading is fading gradually.
“Studying is important for theatre, I realised this once again when I worked on 'Drop Out'.”
Anowar is modest about his achievements. “I've come this far because I wanted so. I am still learning,” he said.