With the aim to popularise theatre and take the form to the people living in every corner of Dhaka, Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation (BGTF) in association with Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) is holding a five day theatre festival in the city. Titled ‘Mohanagar Natyo Utshab 2011’, the festival began on 1 April.
As part of the theatre festival plays are being staged in four different venues in the city simultaneously. The venues are Chhayanaut Shagskriti Bhaban auditorium, Dr Neelima Ibrahim auditorium in Bangladesh Mahila Samity, Bailyroad, Zahir Raihan Sanskritik Kendra in Shutrapur and Natmandal of the Dhaka University.
The plays are being staged at all the four venues simultaneously everyday at 7:00pm. A total of twenty theatre troupes have staged their productions at the festival, which ends today.
Speaking about the theatre festival, Mir Zahid Hassan, secretary, publicity, BGTF, said, “We are holding the festival at four different venues, which are located in four different areas of Dhaka. Most of the theatre troupes prefer to stage plays at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy only, as a result the other available venues and auditoriums in Dhaka do not see many shows. So, with the passage of time these venues are losing their appeal to the theatre troupes. We want to change this.”
“As theatre troupes eye BSA to stage their production, sometimes it becomes very difficult for other theatre troupes to stage their plays in BSA. The halls also remain booked all the time. Therefore, to hold a show sometimes there theatre troupes have to wait for a long time until the halls are available again,” added Zahid, who is also the convenor of the theatre festival.
“Traffic is a major issue in Dhaka. If someone who lives in the old Dhaka wants to see a theatre performance in BSA, he/she will have to travel a long way through the busy traffic. And many just do not want to go through so much hassle. Because of the distance many theatre lovers cannot watch a theatre performance in Dhaka, as a result theatre is losing its audience
“This is why we have staged plays in Old Dhaka, in DU, in Dhanmondi and in Bailyroad so that the people living in these areas can enjoy theatre with ease. Plays should be staged at every corner of Dhaka city not at BSA only,” Zahid said.
The festival was inaugurated on 31 March by Dr Sanjida Khatun. The theme of the festival is ‘Dhaka Hobe Theatre Nagari’. The theatre troupes who staged their productions at the festival are Swapnodal, Bangorango Natyadal, Udichi, Theatre (Topkhana), Dhaka Theatre Moncho, Bangladesh Theatre, Dhaka Drama, Bohubachan, Nandonik Theatre, Drishtipat Natya Shanshad, Protidondi, Granthik Natyogosthi, Natyojodha, Bohubachan Theatre, Nagorik Natyangan Ensemble, Aboyob Natyodal, Shattik Natyo Shamproday, Mukto Moncho Theatre, Rangona Natyo Gosthi and Natyotirtha.
Speaking about the success of the festival, Zahid said, “The festival has been a successful one. We have had a good number of audiences at all the venues everyday; at Chhayanaut Shagskriti Bhaban the turnout has been really good. At Zahir Raihan Sanskritik Kendra in Shutrapur and at Natmandal the turnout was also satisfactory. However, the number of audiences at Dr Neelima Ibrahim auditorium in Bangladesh Mahila Samity didn’t meet our expectations. Bangladesh Mahila Samity is losing its appeal to the theatre lovers day by day. One of the main reasons of this is regular load shedding while a play is in progress on stage. This hampers the normal pace of a play, and for an audience it is simply a disaster. We hope that the authorities will take proper measures to improve the situation.”
Today, again, four plays will be staged at the festival: Gharjamai by Dhaka Theatre Mancho at Chhayanaut Shangskriti Bhaban auditorium, Nagor Alir Kichhchha by Drishtipat Natyo Shamproday at Bangladesh Mahila Samity, Raja Rani by Nagorik Natyangan Ensemble at Zahir Raihan Sanskritik Kendra in Shutrapur and Dwip by Natyotirtha at Natmandal, Dhaka University. The plays will be staged at 7:00pm.
News Source:
The Daily Sun