Redefining Empowerment: British Council Bangladesh and Dhaka Theatre’s noble cause uplifts the differently abled

British Council Bangladesh and Dhaka Theater have been working for almost a decade to connect the differently abled with mainstream theater.

In 2013, the British Council Bangladesh and London's Graeae Theatre Company jointly staged the play 'A Different Romeo and Juliet' based on William Shakespeare's celebrated tragedy "Romeo and Juliet", which was widely appreciated.

Shakespeare's "The Tempest", differently abled from the United Kingdom, Japan and Bangladesh, was also staged at this year's Japan Paralympics.

In 2019, project 'DARE' (Disability Arts: Redefining Empowerment), a joint initiative of the British Council and Dhaka Theater, commenced to encourage the differently-abled to participate in theatre.

The main purpose of this three-year initiative is to bring people with disabilities and theater workers together on one platform - to send a message to the society that our disabled people are not behind us in any way.

At the same time, the platform 'Sundaram' was established for these special artistes. Under the supervision of the British Council and Dhaka Theater, drama workshops are being organised. These workshops will lead the way to producing 8 plays in 8 different districts of the country.

The physical workshops were interrupted during the coronavirus pandemic but the organisers managed to continue with the sessions online.

The workshops resumed physically in Dhaka from September 22 and concluded today. To encourage and inspire the participants, noted actor and painter Afzal Hossain, celebrated artist Dhali Al Mamoon, and popular anchor Farzana Mithila were present in the workshop on 30th September.

State Minister for Cultural Affairs K M Khalid, MP, and popular actor Faruque Ahmed were present in the closing ceremony, which took place this evening.

In 2023, Dhaka Theatre, in collaboration with the British Council, will organise an International Drama Festival Seminar, Symposium on Drama Production for the differently abled in South Asian Countries.

The event, which will be held in Dhaka, will also showcase 8 dramas featuring artistes with special needs from 8 districts from the country.