A week long National Street Theatre Festival was inaugurated on February 1 at the Central Shaheed Minar. The event organised by Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation (BFTF) will showcase six plays everyday. Shunagoriker Shondhaney, Shadhinota Shongramme, Jonom Dukhi Maa, Jege Utho, Shadhinota Tumi Fire Ele and Jononi Jonmobhumi are today’s plays.
On the opening day, the programme began with a patriotic song by indigenous musician Promesh Tonchondra and his group. The song was followed by a dance performance of theatre troupe Mohakaal Natya Shomproday, to the nationalistic song Jaago. The dance recital showcased the unity and revolution of Bangladesh. Naila Tabassum’s recital of a paragraph from Syed Shamsul Haq’s Payer Awaj Paoa Jay followed the performance.
A street play titled Koibollo by theatre Opera was presented at the event. Written by Sanjiban Sikder and directed by Kazi Toufiqul Islam Imon, the story opens with the dark side of excessive greed showcased through the depiction of a group of land diggers. The leader of the group encourages them to keep on digging as he predicted that the soil contains precious elements. But alas! they found nothing. Yet again they were urged by the leader to go on. At one point, their shovels hit something and the noise cause a stir of excitement through the group. Their high hopes were once again shattered as they discovered human skulls instead of any treasure. At last, after long hours of labour, they find a chest. The leader of the group leaves them in the hope that this chest may bring peace in the disputed group.
However, the members become more violent in their greed and starts to kill one another to acquire the supposed treasure for themselves. When they finally got to opening the box, they discover a different kind of treasure. The chest was full of festoons that tells the history of Bangladesh and its liberation. The motto behind the story is that, knowing the history of Bangladesh will bring the people together. The drama captivated the audience by Lathi Khela, which brought rural elements to the stage.
The inauguration of the programme was attended by Minister of Information, Hasanul Haq Inu, Syed Shamsul Haq, veteran theatre activists Lucky Enam, thespian Mamunur Rashid, BGTF Secretary General Jhuna Chowdhury and many other noted personalities.