Celebrating 69th birth anniv of Natyacharya Selim Al Deen

On the occasion of the 69th birth anniversary of Natyacharya Selim Al Deen (August 18), theatre troupes Dhaka Theatre and Swapnadal are holding two separate festivals on the premises of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) in the capital’s Segun Bagicha area.

As a part of the celebration, Swapnadal is organising a discussion event today at the Studio Theatre Hall of BSA, where theatre personality Ataur Rahman will be present as chief guest. Director general of National Institute of Mass Communication Mohammad Rafiquzzaman and Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation secretary general Kamal Bayazid will be present as special guest, while Swapnadal’s general secretary Zahid Ripon will deliver the welcome speech at the event.

Later in the evening, Swapnadal will stage a special show of its anti-war production ‘Tringsha Shatabdee’ at 7pm at the same venue. Adapted and directed by Zahid Repon, the story of ‘Tringsha Shatabdi’ is based on the destruction of the two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which lead to the surrender of Japan and was meant to be the end of the war to end all wars.  

On the other hand, as a part of two-day festival, Dhaka Theatre will hold a discussion titled ‘Selim Al Deen Memorial Lecture’ today at 3pm at the seminar room of the National Theatre Hall of BSA.  

Later on the same day, Dhaka Theatre will stage its much-acclaimed play ‘Dhaboman’ at 7pm at the National Theatre Hall. Written by Selim Al Deen, the play ‘Dhaboman’ is directed by Shimul Yousuf.

On the second day of the festival, artistes of Dhaka Theatre and Swapnadal will place floral wreaths on the playwright’s graveyard at Jahangirnagar University tomorrow morning.

To note, born on August 18, 1949 in Feni, Selim Al Deen, known as ‘Natyacharya’, joined Jahangirnagar University in 1974 as a faculty in Bangla Department and later on, became the founder chairperson of the Department of Drama and Dramatics of the university.

‘Shop Bishoyok Golpo’ (Story about Snakes), his first play in the theatre, was staged in 1972. Dhaka Theatre was founded by him in 1973. Dhaka Theatre, the leading theatre group of the country, plays a pivotal role towards progressive drama movement and staged almost all of Selim Al  Deen’s plays. His plays like ‘Kittonkhola’, ‘Bashon’, ‘Atotai’, ‘Saifulmulk Badiuzzaman’, ‘Keramat Mangal’, ‘Haat Hodai’,’ Chaka’, ‘Joiboti Koinnar Mon’,’ Hargaj’, ‘Muntaserer Fantasy’, ‘Nimojjan’ and others enhanced the quality of the local theatre. He passed away on January 14 in 2008.

Celebrating 69th birth anniv of Natyacharya Selim Al Deen

On the occasion of the 69th birth anniversary of Natyacharya Selim Al Deen (August 18), theatre troupes Dhaka Theatre and Swapnadal are holding two separate festivals on the premises of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) in the capitals Segun Bagicha area. As a part of the celebration, Swapnadal is organising a discussion event today at the Studio Theatre Hall of BSA, where theatre personality Ataur Rahman will be present as chief guest. Director general of National Institute of Mass Communication Mohammad Rafiquzzaman and Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation secretary general Kamal Bayazid will be present as special guest, while Swapnadals general secretary Zahid Ripon will deliver the welcome speech at the event. Later in the evening, Swapnadal will stage a special show of its anti-war production Tringsha Shatabdee at 7pm at the same venue. Adapted and directed by Zahid Repon, the story of Tringsha Shatabdi is based on the destruction of the two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which lead to the surrender of Japan and was meant to be the end of the war to end all wars. On the other hand, as a part of two-day festival, Dhaka Theatre will hold a discussion titled Selim Al Deen Memorial Lecture today at 3pm at the seminar room of the National Theatre Hall of BSA. Later on the same day, Dhaka Theatre will stage its much-acclaimed play Dhaboman at 7pm at the National Theatre Hall. Written by Selim Al Deen, the play Dhaboman is directed by Shimul Yousuf. On the second day of the festival, artistes of Dhaka Theatre and Swapnadal will place floral wreaths on the playwrights graveyard at Jahangirnagar University tomorrow morning. To note, born on August 18, 1949 in Feni, Selim Al Deen, known as Natyacharya, joined Jahangirnagar University in 1974 as a faculty in Bangla Department and later on, became the founder chairperson of the Department of Drama and Dramatics of the university. Shop Bishoyok Golpo (Story about Snakes), his first play in the theatre, was staged in 1972. Dhaka Theatre was founded by him in 1973. Dhaka Theatre, the leading theatre group of the country, plays a pivotal role towards progressive drama movement and staged almost all of Selim Al Deens plays. His plays like Kittonkhola, Bashon, Atotai, Saifulmulk Badiuzzaman, Keramat Mangal, Haat Hodai, Chaka, Joiboti Koinnar Mon, Hargaj, Muntaserer Fantasy, Nimojjan and others enhanced the quality of the local theatre. He passed away on January 14 in 2008.