Prachyanat, a leading theatre troupe in the country, will premiere its 27th production “Bon Manush” at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on Saturday at 7pm.
The play is the translated version of American playwright Eugene O’ Neill’s “The Hairy Ape” and is directed by Baqar Bokul. Previously the play was staged by the 23rd batch students of Prachyanat School of Acting and Design. But, today Prachyanat’s member will present the production on their own way.
The Nobel Laureate playwright’s drama features how unjustly the working class is treated through the tragedy of a brutish person named Yank.
The play shows workers of a ship being monitored by senior officials, privileged class representatives. The play features Yank and others load coal in the engine room of a ship among huge heat. Over onboard one of the daughters of the director of the ship wants to see below the decks. Seeing the misery of the labours, the young woman calls Yank a ‘savage ape’ that grows intention of taking revenge of the insult on the ‘Apes’ mind. The play deals with ape that resembles to the primitives. When the ship docks into a city, Yank goes to seek out the woman but causes trouble thus sent to jail. However, Yank escapes and soon he lands himself in an actual zoo.
The director’s note on the play says: “The ship here is a symbol of the world where capitalism engulfed everything. With the practice of so called ‘globalisation,’ the oppression on the poor is becoming bigger day by day. The play features the plight of the working class and urges to break free.”
