Remembering ‘Natyacharya’ Selim Al Deen on 10th death anniv

Swapnadal to stage ‘Hargaj’ today

Theatre troupe Swapnadal is set to stage ‘Hargaj’, a much-acclaimed play of Natyacharya Selim Al Deen, at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on the playwright’s 10th death anniversary today as part of a two-day commemorative festival.

Swapnadal will bring out a procession from Old Art Faculty of Jahangirnagar University and will place floral wreaths at the grave of Selim Al Deen on the campus at 9:30am.

The troupe will then stage ‘Hargaj’ at the Experimental Theatre Hall of BSA at 6:30pm. Based on a true story, Hargaj, an outstanding work by Selim Al Deen, has been directed by Zahid Repon, a disciple of the playwright.

Hargaj is the name of a village under Manikganj district, which was ravaged by a tornado in the summer of 1989. Selim visited the village after three days and depicted vividly the aftermath of the natural disaster in his play. Hargaj was written in April 1992. Through the play, the master playwright not only portrayed the devastation caused by the tornado, but also raised questions about the mode of rescue operations and relief initiatives.

Swapnadal has arranged the event this year with the slogan ‘Rabindranath-Selim Al Deen Du Haat Dhore Roy, Bangla Natyar Sammukh Jatra Nischit-Nirbhor’.

The troupe staged ‘Helen Keller’, a monodrama directed by Jahid Repon, at the Studio Theatre Hall of the BSA yesterday, the first day of the festival.  

Meanwhile, Dhaka Theatre, in association with Bangladesh Gram Theatre, has organised a three-day festival marking the legend’s death anniversary today.

The troupe will stage ‘Dhaboman’ directed by Shimul Yousuf on the inaugural day today at the National Theatre Hall of BSA.  

Born on August 18, 1949, in Feni, Selim Al-Deen joined Jahangirnagar University in 1974 as a faculty in its Bangla department and later became the founder-chairperson of the Department of Drama and Dramatics of the University.

Shorpo Bishoyok Golpo (Story about Snakes), his first play for the theatre, was staged in 1972.

He founded Dhaka Theatre in 1973. Dhaka Theatre, the leading theatre group of the country, has played a pivotal role in the country’s progressive drama movement, and has staged almost all of Selim Al Deen’s plays. His plays like ‘Kirtonkhola’, ‘Bashon’, ‘Atotai’, ‘Saifulmulk Badiuzzaman’, ‘Keramat Mangal’, ‘Haat Hodai’, ‘Chaka’, ‘Joiboti Koinnar Mon’, ‘Muntaserer Fantasy’, and ‘Nimojjan’ have enhanced the quality of the local theatre. He passed away on January 14, 2008.

 

Remembering Natyacharya Selim Al Deen on 10th death anniv

Swapnadal to stage Hargaj today

Theatre troupe Swapnadal is set to stage Hargaj, a much-acclaimed play of Natyacharya Selim Al Deen, at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on the playwrights 10th death anniversary today as part of a two-day commemorative festival. Swapnadal will bring out a procession from Old Art Faculty of Jahangirnagar University and will place floral wreaths at the grave of Selim Al Deen on the campus at 9:30am. The troupe will then stage Hargaj at the Experimental Theatre Hall of BSA at 6:30pm. Based on a true story, Hargaj, an outstanding work by Selim Al Deen, has been directed by Zahid Repon, a disciple of the playwright. Hargaj is the name of a village under Manikganj district, which was ravaged by a tornado in the summer of 1989. Selim visited the village after three days and depicted vividly the aftermath of the natural disaster in his play. Hargaj was written in April 1992. Through the play, the master playwright not only portrayed the devastation caused by the tornado, but also raised questions about the mode of rescue operations and relief initiatives. Swapnadal has arranged the event this year with the slogan Rabindranath-Selim Al Deen Du Haat Dhore Roy, Bangla Natyar Sammukh Jatra Nischit-Nirbhor. The troupe staged Helen Keller, a monodrama directed by Jahid Repon, at the Studio Theatre Hall of the BSA yesterday, the first day of the festival. Meanwhile, Dhaka Theatre, in association with Bangladesh Gram Theatre, has organised a three-day festival marking the legends death anniversary today. The troupe will stage Dhaboman directed by Shimul Yousuf on the inaugural day today at the National Theatre Hall of BSA. Born on August 18, 1949, in Feni, Selim Al-Deen joined Jahangirnagar University in 1974 as a faculty in its Bangla department and later became the founder-chairperson of the Department of Drama and Dramatics of the University. Shorpo Bishoyok Golpo (Story about Snakes), his first play for the theatre, was staged in 1972. He founded Dhaka Theatre in 1973. Dhaka Theatre, the leading theatre group of the country, has played a pivotal role in the countrys progressive drama movement, and has staged almost all of Selim Al Deens plays. His plays like Kirtonkhola, Bashon, Atotai, Saifulmulk Badiuzzaman, Keramat Mangal, Haat Hodai, Chaka, Joiboti Koinnar Mon, Muntaserer Fantasy, and Nimojjan have enhanced the quality of the local theatre. He passed away on January 14, 2008.