Manipuri Theatre will stage Kohe Birangana, one of its acclaimed productions at the Studio Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on June 12 and 13.
Written and directed by Shuvashis Sinha, the play is an adaptation of Michael Madhusudan Dutt’s Birangana Kavya and the staging will mark the 49th and 50th show of the production.
Since it is difficult to translate Michael’s Bengali idiom to Manipuri, the original Bengali verses are used with Manipuri dance forms in the four parts set to be staged. Each part speaks about the valour of the woman in question-- her passion, her anger, her love and finally her insurmountable pain after she loses her most loved possession. It speaks of Shakuntala, Draupadi, Dusshala and Jona. The play articulates only four verses out of 11 from the original text.
Jyoti Sinha has played all the four characters and apart from her, the play also have four other dancers on stage.
Setting a goal to popularise the Manipuri performing arts and culture across the country, the troupe
basically perform in a language called Bishnupriya Manipuri. Beyond the linguistic communication, the troupe’s plays come alive with voice modulation and physical drama.
