A new play titled “Bandh” adapted from Shawkat Osman’s acclaimed short story “Oi Bandhe” premiered on Friday at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy
The production is an outcome of an initiative by BSA which is producing plays adapted from different elements of Bangla literature like poetry, short stories, novellas etc. BSA came up with the project marking theatre activists’ frustration over the scarcity of good stories.
Through the programme, a total of 64 plays from 64 districts of the country have been staged and “Bandh” was the last production that wrapped up the project.
In “Bandh” the playwright Mohammad Bari pays his sincere honour towards the great writer as he tried to keep the essence of the original work. The audience experienced a tight and vivid performance in the new theatre production featuring ten acts.
The play start with a horrifying portrayal of flood on the outskirts of a village named Niyamotnagar. The people take shelter at the embankment beside the locality. But a hideous age old rivalry between the people from northern side and southern side arise again when the people from south seek shelter on the other north side as the embankment in the south faces erosion. Subsequently they start fighting and the situation gets worse through bloodshed. As the erosion of the embankment increases and threatens everyone, they come to realise that the age old rivalry would not help them to save their lives. They rather become united to tackle the situation.
The director, Mohammad Bari, successfully portrayed the incidents and the characters in a very authentic way. With minimum use of props and maximum utilisation of acting skill, the play brings alive the age old moral story unity is strength.”
The sequences are often enriched by folk songs performed by a character of fakir, a sufi ascetic. His songs narrate the strength of humanity, core philosophy of life and the conscience of the story.
Background music of the play is derived from popular folk tunes blended and inspired by essence of fiction. Toufiqul Islam Emon, A K Azad Setu, Ehsanur Rahman, Hasnat Ripon and Monjur Mithu donned the vital role of the play.
Earlier of the play, son of Shawkat Osman, Yafes Osman, also the minister of state for Science and Information and Communication Technology, veteran theatre personality Ramendu Mazumder and Liaquat Ali Lucky, director general of BSA, gave speeches on the occasion.