Friday, March 29, 2024

Ganga-Jamuna Theatre Fest kicks off at Shilpakala

Ganga-Jamuna Theatre Fest kicks off at ShilpakalaGanga-Jamuna theatre festival, which is considered by many as one of the most awaited theatre festivals for the last three years in the capital, kicked off on Monday amid pomp and colour. The opening day drew a large number of theatre activists and even greater number of audience at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. It is to be noted that Ganga-Jamuna is a well known theatre festival in Kolkata, which is organised there by Kolkata-based theatre troupe Anik; but for the past three years this festival is also being arranged in Bangladesh. It is, however, the ‘festival organising committee’ that arranges the festival here.
With the goal to consolidating cultural affinity and amity between the theatre activists of Bangladesh and India, the festival will see 14 theatre shows by local and Indian troupes. Besides, on the open stage, local cultural troupes will stage street theatre shows and present music also.
On Monday, Asaduzzaman Noor, cultural affairs minister, inaugurated the festival, while, Ramendu Majumder, worldwide president of International Theatre Institute; thespian Mamunur Rashid, thespian Nasiruddin Yousuff, who is also president of Sammilito Sangskritik Jote, Liaquat Ali Lucky, director general of BSA, and Kolkata-based thespian Dolly Bose were present as special guests.
After the inauguration, local troupe Nagarik Natya Sampraday and students of Theatre and Performance Studies Department of Dhaka University respectively staged Naamgotrohin and Hamlet at National and Experimental Theatre Halls of Shilpakala. Both the shows had full house audience.
Nagarik’s Naamgotrohin is the troupe’s recent production. The play is a compilation of three short plays based on three short stories by the late Urdu writer Sadat Hasan Manto.
Directed by Kolkata-based thespian Usha Ganguly, all the three plays deal with the life of women who end up being prostitutes due to unavoidable circumstances. The plays sharply reveal the reality underneath the surface and delve deep into the reasons which pushed the women into prostitution.
The plays — Kali Salwar, License and Hatak — were sewn together by narrator-connectors whose commentaries and narrations shed light on the facts and realities of these women’s lives.
The play had a star-studded cast of Api Karim, Shriya Sarbajaya and Sara Zaker, who enacted the lead roles of the three interconnected short plays.
At Experimental Theatre Hall, however, the audience was led into the split, schizophrenic mind of Hamlet.
Students of Theatre and Performance Studies Department of Dhaka University staged Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Hamlet in late iconic poet Shamsur Rahman’s arresting translation.
Seven Master’s degree students of the department acted in the play in character-shift style, where each of the four male actors acted as Hamlet, Claudius, Horatio and others, in turns.
There were several brilliant moments when the audience was gripped and swayed, as the energetic performers successfully transmitted the spell of the enigmatic Prince of Denmark. The schizophrenic Hamlet, his mental agony, aversion to his mother, desire for revenge, repugnance towards women, especially Ophelia whom he loved, were all wonderfully rendered by the actors.
Audience left the hall spell-bound, if not troubled by the ‘Hamletian’ schism.
Today, Kolkata-based troupe Chupkotha will stage Atmiya Swajan at National Theatre Hall, while local jatra troupe Joyjatra will stage Tipu Sultan at the Experimental Theatre Hall of BSA. Both the plays will commence at 7:00pm.

-With New Age input

Related News

Zainul Abedin’s 109th birth anniv today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Today is the 109th anniversary of the birth of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin. On the occasion, different organisations and admirers will pay tribute to Zainul Abedin placing floral wreaths on his grave on the Dhaka University premises in the morning. Zainul is best known for his sketches of the Bengal famine of ... Read more

Manik Bandopadhyay’s death anniversary today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Today is the 67th anniversary of the death of Bengali novelist and short story writer Manik Bandopadhyay. Born on May 19, 1908 to Harikar Bandopadhyay and Niroda Devi in Dumka, a small town in Santal Parganas district in the state of Bihar, British India, Manik Bandopadhyay was the fifth of the ... Read more

Qayyum Chowdhury ’s death anniversary today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Today is the ninth anniversary of the death of acclaimed artist Qayyum Chowdhury. Born on March 9, 1932 in Feni, Qayyum Chowdhury’s works delve deep into folk, rustic life and traditions. Fish, flowers, women, birds and greenery are recurring objects on his canvas. He graduated from the Government Institute of Arts ... Read more

‘Quarantine’ exhibition by artist Mahbubur Rahman begins today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com The opening ceremony of the exhibition comprising multi-dimensional artworks of artist Mahbubur Rahman will be held today at 5 pm. The exhibit titled, “Quarantine”, has been organised at the Kamrul Hasan Exhibition (level 1) of Bengal Shilpalay in Dhanmondi. Professor Bulbul Osman, women and human rights activist Khushi Kabir and artist ... Read more

SM Sultan’s 29th death anniversary today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Today is the 29th anniversary of the death of renowned artist SM Sultan. Different organisations, including Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, SM Sultan Foundation and Narail district administration will pay tribute to SM Sultan organising daylong programmes at different venues in Narail’s Sultan Smriti Sangrahasala, Shishu Swarga and Zila Shilpakala Academy. Born on ... Read more

‘Tasher Desh’ staged at Scholastica school

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com With immense zeal and fervour, Scholastica Senior Campus, Mirpur staged the splendid play ‘Tasher Desh’, a masterpiece by the revered poet Rabindranath Tagore. The school’s STM hall served as the majestic environment for this two-day annual drama festival, culminating on a Friday. The talented students, members of the esteemed drama, music, ... Read more

Poet Asad Chowdhury passes away

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Noted poet Asad Chowdhury died of old-age complications while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Toronto, Canada on Thursday. He was 80. The poet ‘died at 3:03am Canada time’ and ‘at 1:03pm Bangladesh time’, the poet’s son-in-law Nadim Iqbal posted on facebook Thursday afternoon. The poet died at the Lakeridge Health ... Read more

Shilpakala inaugurates nationwide puppet festival

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com A twelve day long puppetry festival titled “Gonojagoron er Putul Natya Utshob” inaugurated on Friday. Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy has organised the nationwide festival . According to BSA, puppetry is one of the most effective means of folk education. Through its presentation and stylistic approach over the ages, puppetry has played a ... Read more

SD Burman’s birth anniversary today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Today is the 117th anniversary of the birth of legendary singer and music director Sachin Dev Burman. SD Burman, born in 1906 in Cumilla, composed playbacks for over 100 films. Leading singers of the Indian subcontinent like Lata Mangeskhar, Mohammad Rafi, Geeta Dutta, Manna Dey, Asha Bosle, Mukesh and Talat Mahmud ... Read more

Shilpakala Academy organizes exhibition of artist Ismail Chowdhury’s artwork

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy organized a solo painting exhibition of painter Ismail Chowdhury. Painter Ismail Chowdhury has participated in more than half a hundred solo and joint exhibitions in various countries including Bangladesh, Japan, USA, Italy, Nepal, and Bhutan, reads a press release. The elite and talented artists of the country have ... Read more

Feroza Begum’s 9th death anniv today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Today is the ninth anniversary of the death of the legendary Nazrul Sangeet singer Feroza Begum. Feroza Begum was born on July 28, 1926 to Khan Bahadur Mohammad Ismail and Begum Kawakabonnessa. Drawn to music at an early age, Feroza Begum started her formal music education under the tutelage of Chitta ... Read more

Bhupen Hazarika’s birth anniv today

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Today is the 97th anniversary of the birth of eminent singer, lyricist and musician Bhupen Hazarika, who is still popular among music lovers in Bangladesh. He conquered the heart of thousands in Bangladesh rendering timeless songs, including Manush Manusher Janya, Ami Ek jajabar, Amra Korbo joy, Bistirna Duparer, Megh Thom Thom ... Read more

IUB organises musical evening to celebrate Rabindra-Nazrul Jayanti

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com A musical evening was organised at the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) campus in Dhaka’s Bashundhara Residential Area on Thursday (27 July) to mark the birth anniversaries of Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam. Renowned singers Adity Mohsin and Bijon Chandra Mistry performed Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Geeti respectively. IUB’s Kazi Nazrul ... Read more

Dhaka Theater to celebrate golden jubilee this year

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Marking the golden jubilee of one of the prolific theatre troupes of the country, Dhaka Theater will celebrate its 50 years on July 29. Established in 1973 by freedom fighter and noted cultural personality Nasir Uddin Yusuff, along with some brave freedom fighters, the troupe earned acclaim in both nationally and ... Read more

Sourav Chowdhury’s 5th solo exhibition underway at AFD

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com The 5th solo art exhibition of Sourav Chowdhury titled “Eternal Existence” has begun at Alliance Française de Dhaka. The inaugural ceremony of the exhibition was held on Friday, 21 July 2023 at 6 pm at La Galerie. Eminent artist Prof. Rafiqun Nabi, Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of France in Bangladesh, ... Read more

Ten Years After Rana Plaza show opens at Drik Gallery on Friday

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Ten Years After Rana Plaza, an immersive exhibition marking ten years of the Rana Plaza disaster through interdisciplinary works on the subject by Bangladeshi photographer and filmmaker, Ismail Ferdous, is set to begin on Friday (21 July) at Drik Gallery, Dhaka, said a press release. Following the tragic collapse of the ... Read more

Bangla Academy pays tribute to Dr Muhammad Shahidullah

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangla Academy paid tribute to educationist, writer, philologist and linguist Dr Muhammad Shahidullah organising a commemorative programme at its Syed Waliullah Conference Room on Tuesday. The academy organised the programme marking the 138th anniversary of the birth of Dr Muhammad Shahidullah, which was also streamed on the Facebook page of the ... Read more

25th National Fine Arts Exhibition 2023 ends July 15

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com The 5th National Fine Arts Exhibition-2023 is ongoing under the management of the fine arts department organised by Shilpakala Academy. The opening ceremony of the 25th National Fine Arts Exhibition was held on May 28th. The exhibition in which artists from all over the country have participated is coming to a ... Read more

Parents should encourage children pursue dance: discussants

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Discussants have said that children should be encouraged to pursue dance so that they can grow up healthy individuals. The made the remarks while speaking at a programme organised by dance organisation Nrittangan at the auditorium of National Music and Dance Centre of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on Wednesday. The organisation arranged ... Read more

Shilpakala stages ‘Hamlet’

Cultural Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy staged its acclaimed production titled Hamlet at the National Theatre Hall of the academy on Friday. The play, written by William Shakespeare, has been translated into Bangla by Syed Shamsul Haq. Thespian Ataur Rahman has directed the production. Set in Denmark, Hamlet depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts ... Read more