A seven-day theatre festival featuring seven plays directed by Golam Sarwar will begin today at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) Segun Bagicha in the city.
Organised by Theatre troupe Natyachakra featuring six other troupes the festival titled ‘Saptabarna Natyautsab’ will be inaugurated by Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader as chief guest. Presided over by Natyachakra president M Hamid, Education Secretary Md Sohrab Hossain and BSA Director General Liaquat Ali Lucky will be present as special guests at the opening ceremony.
The award- winning play ‘Eksho Bosta Chal’ (One Hundred Sacks of Rice) -a collaborative work between Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) and the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka, which is originally written in Japanese by Yuzo Yamamoto, is adapted into Bangla by Professor Abdus Selim and directed by Golam Sarwar, will be staged as opening play today at 7pm.
The play based on a true story that occurred in Japan about 150 years ago is set against the backdrop of the transitional period of ‘Shogunate era’ to ‘Meiji’ resurrection. It is a story about one aged samurai, Torajiro Kobayashi, who preached the priority of education over hunger, patience over temporary relief, and importance of developing human resources in building a strong national foundation. The thrilling dialogue between Torajiro and vexed young samurais, who insist, at sword’s point, the desperate need of sufficing today’s hunger, is breathtaking, while brilliantly capturing the essence of samurai spirits as well as the Japanese philosophy deeply embedded in it. It is strongly hoped that, through this drama, the importance of education as well as the depth and beauty of the Japanese culture and values will be brought close to the audience of Dhaka.
On the second day of the festival, Dhaka Theatre Mancha will stage their play ‘Ghar Jamai’, while ‘Cleopatra’ by Nandanik Natya Sampraday will be staged on the third day.
The other four plays —‘Bibah Prastab’ by Uttara Cultural Society, ‘Kamalakanta’ by Natyabed, ‘Kaler Jatra’ by Padatik Natya Sangsad and ‘Bhoddornok’ by Natyachakra will be staged on May 31, June 1, 2, 3 respectively. l