Celebrating an iconoclast who became an icon

Left: Honourees (back row) with the discussants at the programme. Right: An installation has been placed at the lobby of BSA on the occasion.Photo: Mumit M.

The 12-day long International Ibsen Seminar and Theatre Festival 2009 opened at National Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), on November 12. The festival aims to celebrate the legendary playwright and see his works from new perspectives.
Centre for Asian Theatre (CAT), in collaboration with Centre for Ibsen Studies (University of Oslo), Norwegian Embassy, BSA, ICCR, Jahangirnagar University and Grameenphone, has arranged the festival.
National Professor Kabir Chowdhury formally inaugurated the festival while Dipu Moni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was present as the chief guest.
Presided over by Professor Abdul Mannan, president of CAT, the event was attended by the Norwegian Ambassador to Dhaka Ingebjørg Støfring; Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty; Frode Helland, director, Centre for Ibsen Studies (University of Oslo); Kamaluddin Nilu, chief adviser of the festival; Ramendu Majumdar, president, ITI Worldwide; Ataur Rahman, president, Bangladesh Centre of ITI; noted litterateur Selina Hossain; Professor Sharif Enamul Kabir, Vice-Chancellor of Jahangirnagar University; Professor Shafi Ahmed, coordinator of the festival; director general of BSA, Kamal Lohani and other dignitaries.
The discussion started with a welcome speech by Kamaluddin Nilu of Centre for Ibsen Studies (University of Oslo). He elaborately discussed the purpose of the festival. Terming Ibsen as the "father of modern drama," Nilu said, "Ibsen's works are marked by symbolism, often blended with new artistic expressions."
In his speech, Professor Kabir Chowdhury said, “Ibsen wrote 26 plays, all of which are masterpieces. But we are drawn to his plays not only because of the technical perfection of his craftsmanship, but also for their relevance. He drove home messages of freedom: women's freedom from male domination, freedom of expression and freedom from dogmatic religious outlooks and so on.”
In her speech Dr. Dipu Moni said, “This festival belies the fact that Ibsen is a Norwegian playwright. He is for all nationalities and times. In his day he dealt with subjects that were highly controversial, such as divorce, incest, venereal disease and public health. But the driving force behind all his works was social commitment, which every person, especially politicians, can learn from his plays.”
"There is no denying the fact that Ibsen is Norwegian, but his themes have crossed the limits of national borders," said Ingebjørg Støfring. The Norwegian Ambassador also lauded the works of Selim Al Deen and Abdullah Al Mamun.
In recognition of their outstanding contribution to various fields of arts, theatre, film, literature, painting and Liberation War, seven renowned personalities were honoured with Ibsen Award. The recipients are Syed Shamsul Haq, Begum Mushtari Shafi, Ferdousi Majumdar, Milon Kanti Dey, Sayeed Ahmed, Mohammad Kibria and Soovas Dutt.