Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Dhaka’s production Boshonto Jagoron will be showcased on Friday 7pm at Nat Mondal. The play that critisises the sexually-oppressive culture of our country will be showcased everyday till Novemver 28.
The production is an adaption of German dramatist Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening.
The story of Boshonto Jagoron portrays the insecurities, confusion and curiosities faced by adolescents during puberty and the refusal of adults to inform and prepare the younger generations with proper sex education.
Directed by Shahman Moishan, the play features Tania Islam Jhumur in the role of Wendla Bergmann, Ishtiaq Khan Pathan as Melchior Gabor and Chandra Bormon as Moritz Stiefel.
The story opens with Wendla, a girl aged fourteen, who becomes pregnant with Melchior’s baby, due to her lack of understanding of the consequences of unprotected sex. She dies after an unsafe, botched abortion.
Melchior is a fourteen-year-old atheist who, unlike the other children, has proper knowledge about sex and its repercussions. His detailed letter about sexual intercourse to his best friend Moritz gets him expelled from school. On the other hand, Moritz, commits suicide as he is unable to cope up with the confusing feelings and distractions caused by puberty.
The director of the play said: “There are two purposes behind staging the play, one is academic and the other is social. The dramatist Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening is in our curriculum, so we decided to stage it. There is a social aspect to this story as well. Here, spring is depicted as the youthful and awakening of sexual consciousness.
“The play is controversial and is quite bold when the subject is broached in our society, where the word ‘sex’ is still a taboo. It is further more important to address these issues, which was considered once a burning subject in Europe during the early 20th century. For us, the time is perfect as our society has yet to be open about sex education to adolescents. Many of the aspects of the play has been moderated according to acceptability of the audience of Dhaka.
“The play was a great experience for the actors as they shared their own perspectives in this play.”