Adapted and Directed by Reetu Sattar, “Dog, Woman, Man” by German playwright Sibylle Berg premiere this evening at the Goethe-Institut.
“While Goethe´s ‘Faust’ or plays by Bertolt Brecht are regularly staged in Bangladesh, contemporary German theatre remains relatively unknown. On the invitation of Goethe-Institut, I was bestowed with the responsibility to adapt and direct the play,” said Reetu Sattar.
“Dog, Woman, Man” captures an unorthodox view of a relationship between two people through a dog’s perspective. It describes the strange behaviour of the woman and the man who literally cling together even though they can scarcely stand one another. When they meet for the first time the dog runs up to them and from then on stays because it has nothing to lose and it seeks shelter in a warm apartment. After a brief period of devoting loving attention to one another, love becomes a claim to possession, closeness is replaced by suspicion and alienation. The dog stays with them till they split up.
The three characters are played by Samina Lutfa Mitra, Shahadat Hussain and Shahriar Ferdous.
Explaining the dynamics of the play, Reetu said: “The most interesting feature I found in this play is its authenticity in portraying a pure urban story. I grew up in a city and I could relate to all the aspects of the story. In our local productions, we hardly find true urban stories. And it is the most challenging part.” This is the third directorial venture from Reetu, also a renowned theatre actor.