Padatik Theatre Fest at Shilpakala

Both “Bashikaron” (top) and “Buro Shaliker Gharey Ro” were directed by Ashok Mukhopadhyay. Photo: Golam Mahbub

Theatre Workshop (from Kolkata, India) staged Rabindranath Tagore's “Bashikaron” and Michael Madhusudan Dutta's “Buro Shaliker Gharey Ro” on the third day (April 8) of the ongoing theatre festival at Shilpakala Academy. The plays were staged at the National Theatre Hall. Local troupe Subachan Natya Sangsad staged “Mahajoner Nao” at the Experimental Theatre Hall on the same day.
Padatik Natya Sangsad (TSC) has organised the weeklong festival.
Both plays by Theatre Workshop were directed by Ashok Mukhopadhyay. “Bashikaron” had its premiere show at the festival. The play is an ode to Rabindranath Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary.
“Bashikaron” highlights two individual's perspectives in a humorous way. One of them is progressive and wants to get married for the second time. The other is very religious and wants to renounce the material world to devote himself to spirituality; he wants to remain unattached. Hilarious incidents ensue as their paths cross.
Madhusudan's “Buro Shaliker Gharey Ro” is a satire on the then Bengali society, which was riddled with prejudice and misinterpretation of religion. Glimpses of the divide between the Muslim and Hindu communities of that time are also apparent in the play. The highlight of the play is Madhusudan's razor-sharp wit in criticising the social flaws.
The cast of both the plays included Ashok Mukhopadhyay, Kanchan Chakraborty, Nitya Ganguly, Prosenjit Bhattacharjee, Sumitro Banerjee, Rina Halder, Dipashokha Basu, Nupur Roy and Modhumita Dham.
Subachan's “Mahajoner Nao” was written by Shakur Majid and directed by Sudip Chakrobarty. The play highlights the life and works of 'Baul Samrat' Shah Abdul Karim.
Today, Dhaka Padatik will stage “Joldash” at the Experimental Theatre Hall, while Theatre (Arambagh) will stage “Janmosutra” at the National Theatre Hall.