Street Theatre Festival in Faridpur and Jamalpur

Scenes from the plays.Photo: STAR

Two street plays were held at Ambika Maidan in Faridpur on January 21.
The performances were part of the month-long Street Theatre Festival jointly organised by Bangladesh Pothonatak Parishad and The Daily Star to mark the 40th anniversary of Independence and 20th anniversary of the national daily. Beginning from January 14, the festival is being held at 50 locations in 47 districts.
Boishaki Natya Gosthi of Faridpur staged “Jadu”, directed by Al Hamim and Kheyali Natya Sampraday, also of Faridpur, staged “Bibishab” directed by Alam Khan.
The programme was inaugurated by cultural personality Dr. Noni Gopal Saha.
A discussion was held prior to the plays. The discussants were of the view that street theatre is an exceptional art form which not only entertains the masses but also mirrors reality. The joint endeavour of The Daily Star and Bangladesh Pothonatak Parishad to present street plays across the country is a unique attempt to revive the art form, they asserted.
Freedom fighter Abul Fayez Shah Newaz, president of Faridpur Sahitya O Sangskriti Unnayan Sangstha (FSOSUS), was the chief guest at the discussion. Abu Sufian Chowdhury Kushol, secretary of FSOSUS, attended as special guest.
Among others, noted teacher and journalist Jagadish Chandra Ghosh; Professor Altaf Hossain; Professor Rezvi Zaman and The Daily Star correspondent Rezaul Karim spoke on the occasion.

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A Correspondent, Jamalpur
As part of the same festival, two street plays were staged at local Shahid Minar last Friday.
Prior to the staging of the plays a discussion was held.
Deputy Commissioner of Jamalpur Siraj Uddin Ahmed was present as chief guest.
Before the discussion, Mukhlesur Rahman Fakir, a local theatre personality, inaugurated the programme.
Fakir said, “As a regular reader of The Daily Star, I enjoy its unbiased reports and informative views on different issues.”
Freedom fighter Abdur Rashid, in his speech, said the Liberation War is a continuous process and the sprit of the war should be ignited among generations.
This initiative of The Daily Star is praiseworthy as it will help promote our culture, he added.
After the discussion, two street plays -- "Barnochora" by renowned playwright Momotaz Uddin and "Mohabidya" by Manoj Mittra, a well known playwright of West Bengal -- were staged.
Local groups Amrito Theatre and Bhor Holo staged the plays. Leader of Amrito Theatre, Mukta Ahmed, directed the plays.
"Barnochora" features the heinous roles of Razakar and Al-badar during the Liberation War. The audiences were moved by performances of the artistes. The play "Mohabidya" reminded the audience of corruption in Bangladesh.