Few contemporary novels have travelled as far or touched as many readers as Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. Built less on plot than on allegory, reflection, and spiritual awakening, the novel poses an obvious challenge for the stage. How does one dramatize an inward journey?
With ‘The Alchemist: Subarnasrastha,’ adapted by Mahfuz Islam Megh and directed by Talha Zubaer, theatre troupe Actomania takes on that challenge with admirable ambition.
Premiering at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on 17 September, the production seeks not merely to retell the story of Santiago's journey from Andalusia to the Egyptian pyramids but to rekindle the novel's faith in dreams, destiny, and self-discovery.
I attended the first show on 18 September.
Even before the performance began, Actomania seemed to have achieved something notable. The hall was nearly packed, with audience members of different ages filling the seats around the arena stage.
At a time when theatre often struggles to compete with digital entertainment, such a turnout suggested both the enduring appeal of Coelho's novel and a growing curiosity about contemporary theatre.
Actomania has built the production around one of the novel's most famous lines: "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
The quotation serves as both the production's tagline and its guiding philosophy.
That vision is reinforced by director Zubaer, who argues that modern life, increasingly shaped by algorithms, career anxieties, and relentless competition, often disconnects people from their deepest aspirations.
For him, The Alchemist is less an adventure story than a reminder that dreams remain essential to human fulfillment.
This idea gives the production an immediate relevance. Rather than focusing solely on Santiago's travels, the performance presents his journey as a search for meaning in a world that often discourages introspection.
Yet the production's strengths and weaknesses both stem from the same source: its determination to make Coelho's philosophical universe theatrically vivid.
The most striking achievement of the evening is undoubtedly its visual language. Arena staging is notoriously difficult because actors must remain effective from all angles, but Zubaer's design demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the form.
The use of multiple levels, fluid movement patterns and carefully composed stage pictures creates an ever-changing theatrical landscape.
The production rarely feels static; scenes flow into one another with an energy that keeps the audience engaged throughout.
Central to this achievement is the work of lighting designer Mukhlesur Rahman, whose contribution is nothing short of outstanding.
The repeated use of blue and red washes creates a rich visual vocabulary that shapes the audience's emotional experience. Blue evokes mystery, contemplation and transcendence; red suggests danger, passion and uncertainty.
Together they generate an atmosphere that moves effortlessly between romance, suspense, and adventure. At several points the lighting functions almost as an additional performer, transforming the stage into a shifting dreamscape and providing some of the production's most memorable moments.
The music design by Gopi Debnath complements the visual world effectively. The combination of recorded soundscapes and live drumming heightens tension and sustains dramatic momentum, particularly during transitional sequences.
The drums lend a ritualistic quality to Santiago's journey and deepen the sense that he is moving through a world governed by forces larger than himself. Similarly, Rehnuma Tabassum's costumes support the storytelling without drawing unnecessary attention to themselves, helping establish character and place while maintaining visual harmony.
Mahfuz Islam Megh's adaptation also deserves credit. Condensing a novel as episodic and reflective as The Alchemist into a workable stage script requires difficult compromises, and the adaptor succeeds in preserving the work's central message without allowing the production to lose momentum.
However, the adaptation also reveals one of the evening's principal shortcomings. In translating Coelho's introspective prose into theatrical action, the production occasionally privileges spectacle over reflection.
The lighting, music and movement are often so effective that they leave limited space for silence or contemplation. As a result, some of the novel's deeper philosophical insights arrive as statements rather than discoveries. The audience understands the ideas intellectually but does not always have the opportunity to experience them emotionally.
A related issue emerges in Santiago's character arc. The production vividly conveys his physical journey across deserts and through encounters with strangers, mentors, and lovers.
Yet his inner transformation is less consistently dramatised. We see the events that shape him, but not always the gradual evolution of his consciousness. Consequently, certain moments that should feel spiritually transformative pass with less impact than they might. We witness where Santiago goes; we do not always feel who he becomes.
The arena configuration, despite its advantages, occasionally creates practical difficulties as well. Some scenes appear composed primarily for specific sightlines, leaving sections of the audience at a slight visual disadvantage. Further refinement of the blocking could help ensure that key moments land with equal force from every angle.
The acting, overall, is strong. Sayem Sezan delivers a convincing Santiago, balancing youthful innocence with quiet determination. His performance anchors the production and allows the audience to invest in the shepherd's quest.
Tabassum Ilma brings warmth and sincerity to Fatima, while Borish Dhara, as Dreamgirl, creates a memorable presence despite relatively limited stage time. Sulaiha Tarjia as Karika, Salahuddin Evan as the Englishman, Abhijit Shaha Rudra as Jesus Christ and Sakib Shubho as the Shepherd Boy all contribute effectively to the ensemble effort.
That said, not all performances achieve the same depth. Some actors appear to represent their characters rather than fully inhabit them, relying on external gestures and vocal patterns more than psychological engagement.
Given the production's spiritual ambitions, greater emotional specificity would strengthen several scenes.
The evening's most significant weakness, however, lies in the portrayal of the title character. In Coelho's novel, the Alchemist serves as the philosophical centre of the narrative, the figure through whom Santiago learns to interpret the language of the world.
Any weakness in this role therefore has consequences for the production as a whole. Unfortunately, Shashanka Saha struggles to convey the mystery, wisdom and authority that the character requires. His performance often feels tentative where it should feel assured.
At crucial moments, the Alchemist appears surprisingly ordinary, diminishing the power of scenes that should represent Santiago's deepest encounters with insight and transformation.
His movements occasionally seem stiff, and several pronunciation issues, including the rendering of drirhota and dokkhota, disrupt the flow of the performance. Similar inconsistencies in the pronunciation of satya were also noticeable elsewhere in the production.
Still, this remains a newly premiered work, and theatre often grows significantly after its opening performances.
These issues are neither fundamental nor irreversible. As the cast settles further into the production, greater confidence and precision are likely to emerge.
The Alchemist: Subarnasrastha is not a flawless production. At times it simplifies Coelho's ambiguities and occasionally favours visual spectacle over philosophical depth. Yet it remains one of the more ambitious productions currently on the Dhaka stage.
It may not yet be the definitive stage adaptation of The Alchemist, but it is a compelling and promising beginning.
Like Santiago himself, it remains on a journey, and there is every reason to believe that the destination may prove even richer than the road travelled so far.
Ahmed Ahsanuzzaman is a professor of English at IUB, theatre director, and a performance scholar.