Mirpur’s Riddhi Gallery hosts ‘Ishwar Tumi Kothay’ this evening

A harrowing solo drama tracing the life and death of a Rohingya woman is being staged today at Mirpur's Riddhi Gallery Auditorium, marking a significant attempt to decentralise Dhaka's theatre scene.

Theatre troupe Charanik presents its fifth production, "Ishwar Tumi Kothay", written and directed by Jewel Kabir. The one-hour-ten-minute performance, featuring Safia Khandakar Rekha in a stark single-actor role, opens at 7pm on September 26. Organisers note the play has already been staged 14 times at other venues.

The newly established Riddhi Gallery aims to bring live theatre closer to neighbourhoods such as Mirpur, Uttara, and Mohammadpur—areas often cut off from the cultural hubs of Bailey Road and Shilpakala Academy. "We built this space for local artists and to present notable productions on a regular basis," representatives of the venue said.

"Ishwar Tumi Kothay" recounts the turbulent odyssey of Tasmida Johar, a Rohingya Muslim woman. As a teenager, she suffered sexual violence at the hands of Myanmar soldiers and fled across the Naf River into a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Her struggle continues with further abuse, betrayal by a lover who ultimately sold her to traffickers, and repeated displacements—from Bangladesh to India with UNHCR support, then into trafficking networks, and finally onto a merchant ship bound for Europe. Her journey ends in tragedy, with her death in the mid-Atlantic.

Bleak yet unflinching, the play portrays the intersections of gendered violence, forced migration, and human trafficking. Organisers say it seeks to confront audiences with the human costs of global displacement.

The creative team includes Junaid Yusuf (stage and lighting), Tanmoy (makeup), Rumi Islam (choreography), Andalib Mostafa Lalon (music and voice), Robi Ghosh (background score), Trishna Roy and Atanu Sohag (props), Ribbon Khandaker (costume), Bimbita Bibhavari Anusrita (poster design), with backstage support from Robin Sujon, Manju Shikha Sen Gupta, Tushar Chandan, Ashiqur Rahman Chowdhury, Mumu Mahinur, Rituraj, and Akash. Mohammad Rezaul Karim Reza is producer-manager.

Staging the play in Mirpur is also part of a deliberate effort to take socially engaged theatre to audiences beyond Dhaka's traditional stages.