Dhaka Drama Festival 2004

Abayab Theatre staged Karnakatha on June 27 at the Experimental Theatre Stage.

Many Bangladeshi modern dramatists write contemporary plays based on the Kurukkhetra War. Their aim is to show the oppression of the weaker powers by the super powers. The gods of the Mahabharata represent the oppressive super powers, while the rivals of the gods in the epic represent the common people of the present time.

Playwright Tanvir Ahmed Sydney has adapted the drama from the Mahabharata. The section is the 'Kurukkhetra War' when Kaurab hero.

Karna decides to kill Arjun, the representative of the Pandabs.

Sydney's Karnakatha starts with the ritual songs to show respect to the epic. The dramatist unfolds his play through a narrator. The narrator plays the major role in the play. After each narration a new story from the epic was staged.

Karna the hero belongs to the low cast but outstrips any warrior. He offers to duel with Arjun, the representative of the upper cast. Arjun, on his part, refuses to fight against a low cast opponent. His mentor Dronacharya is biased towards his favourite disciple Arjun. He stops Karna from fulfilling his ambition to kill Arjun because he knows that the latter will be defeated by Karna.

But when the Kurukshetra War starts, Karna gets a chance to take revenge from the upper cast people and Arjun, in particular.

However, the head of the gods Indra, being partial to Arjun, deceives Karna into giving the Kabojkundalee (protective talisman) provided by his father the Sun God.

During the Kurukshetra war the class discrimination and the biased tendency of the gods was explicit in the play Karnakatha.

Krishna, the guiding light of the Pandavs, tells all the gods to support Arjun so that he can beat Karna. And Arjun, with the advice of Krishna, kills Karna, in violation of the code of war.

Mohammed Jasimuddin as the director of the play is very much narrative. Sometimes it appears that the audience is listening to the recitation of the Mahabharata, not watching a play. In fact, the editing of the play need to be improved for a quality production, so does the choreography. An orange cloth , covering the eyes of the character Gandhari should have been black instead, according to the myth.

Shahidul Haq Khan, the set designer, has used the total stage as well as the upper space of the Experimental Theatre Stage, which is meant for the audience.

The light design of Abdul Halim Pramanik was a total disaster. Due to lack of visibility, which is a basic requirement for light design, the artistes often remained out of focus.

The music composition of the play was, however, enchanting.

Parvin Aktar Paru, as the narrator of the play, gave an excellent performance. Her voice modulation to narrate the total play deserves high praise. The other performers were monotonous.

Drama Festival in full swing
The organisers of the drama festival have reason to be happy. As they say, in each and every show, the sales of the tickets have far exceeded their expectations.

On the fifth day, people from different segments of the society came to enjoy Natyafauj's drama. Three spectators named Mohammed Mokhlesur Rahman, Mohammed Delwar Hossain and Khalil Bapari were among the audience, who are 'fish traders and not frequent theatregoers' as Khalil said. 'After seeing the colourful posters of the drama festival we decided to come and watch a show. We hope to come here whenever we get chance,' he said.

Three rows ahead of the fish traders, were also two Frenchmen named Farice and Mireille. 'Language is the basic problem for us. In fact we have not understood any thing of the play,' said Farice. His friend Mireille said, 'I find some similarities between the Bangladeshi and the French drama. In France the theatrical groups also play live orchestra like you do.'

Ershad Kamol

Schedules (June 29-July 04)

June 29
Play: Good Bye Dhaka
Playwright & Director: Nazrul Islam Khan
Group: Bahubachan

June 30
Play: Bou Basanti
Playwright: Ratan Siddiqui
Director: Azad Abul Kalam
Group: Udichi

July 01
Play: Kanjush (Moliere)
Adapted by Tariq Anam Khan
Director: Liakat Ali Lucky
Group: Loko Natya Dal

July 02
Play: Shat Ghater Kanakari
Playwright & Director: Momtazuddin Ahmed
Group: Theatre (Arambagh)

July 03
Play: Court Martial
Playwright and Director: SM Solaiman
Group: Theatre Art Natyadal

July 04
Play: Babar Biye
Playwright: Munir Hossain
Director: Mahbubur Rahman
Group: Padadhwani Theatre

Venue: Experimental Theatre Stage at Shilpakala Academy; Time: 7 pm
Tickets are available at Sagar Publishers, Baily Road and at the venue before shows.
Prices: Tk. 30, Tk. 50 and Tk. 100.
Schedules, provided by BGTF, are subject to change without any prior notice.