Prachyanat, one of the most vibrant theatre troupes in the country, is participating in the ongoing fourth edition of International Theatre Festival in Kolkata. The troupe that is representing Bangladesh in this international event will stage its audience-admired play ‘Tragedy Palashbari’ at the Auditorium of Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata on June 10. Organised by Kalindi Bratyajon, the much-awaited International Theatre Festival 2015 began on June 4 at the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata and will continue till June 10. This year, groups from Sri Lanka, France, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burundi, besides a few from Kolkata, will be gracing the festival. The play depicts the tragic collapse of a nine-storey factory at Palashbari in April 2005, the Spectrum Sweater and Knitting Factory situated in Savar’s Palashabri area, that collapsed in the middle of the night killing 64 garment workers and injuring several others. Prachyanat’s 30th production ‘Tragedy Palashbari’ has been created to pay tribute to those RMG worker victims who died in the collapse of a nine-storey factory at Palashbari in April 2005.
The story centres around an RMG worker named Taravan, who, facing a dire situation at home, moves to the capital from a northern district of the country and takes up a job at the Spectrum RMG factory. As she begins a new life with her colleague, the deadly incident occurs. In the play, Taravan describes to the audience, mostly in soliloquy, how the accident shattered the dreams of girls like her.
The 27-minute play casts Parveen Sultana Koli, Mohammad Rafique, Rifat Ahmed Nobel, Gopi Debnath, Moniruzzaman and others in different roles. Abul Hasnat Bhuiyan Ripon has done the stage and light design, while Neel Kamrul was on the background score. The play, written and directed by Azad Abul Kalam, was premiered at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on December 30 in 2014. l