Bhaddornok

M Hamid and Mahmud Sajjad in a comic scene

On July 15, at the Experimental Theatre Stage, Natyachakra staged Bhoddornok, an adapted version of Moliere's The Bourgeois Gentleman.

During the 17th century, after the successful Industrial Revolution, many lower class people became rich. After being rich they desired to be the part of fashionable elite by resorting to hypocrisy and social pretentions. The same fact can be observed with many Bangladeshis who earned a lot of money in the Middle East and other foreign countries during early 80s.

Golam Sarwar's adapted version of Moliere's play presents the story of the lower-class-born Fazar Ali who has earned huge money in Kuwait. However, after returning to Bangladesh, he struggles to learn the manners of the upper echelon forgetting his roots. Through the story of Fazar Ali, playwright Golam Sarwar has successfully presented in a humourous approach the vices and follies of the aristocrats who have a lack of morality.

As a director also, Srawar has successfully maintained the pace and technique of the play required for a successful 'Comedy of Morals'. The most remarkable part of his direction is his using sarcastic and normal physical movements to represent the vicious aristocrats and the rational ordinary people respectively.

By using a few numbers of curtains on the empty stage, Junaid Eusuf has created a suggestive living room where all the events of the play take place. However, more artistic set is required to support Sarwar's stylistic direction. Most of the time Junaid has used general light. But his using of the symbolic colour effects for the special sequences is appreciable.

M Hamid as Fazar Ali and Mahmud Sajjad as Shafi Rahman performed well. But Shamsuddin Haidar Dalim as Karim needs to develop his skill.