Dhaka Drama Festival 2004

A hard-hitting story

Bangladesh Theatre staged their current production See-Morag on July 10, as part of the drama festival arranged by BGTF.

The play See-Morag represents a village named Baghabari, where feudal lord Bazal Shikdar imposes his will on the villagers. Once he collects a rooster from Sylhet and claims that it is the legendary See-Morag of the fable. One day his so-called See-Morag is lost and he accuses everyone of stealing his rooster. At last, he takes it as an opportunity to forcibly occupy the house of a Hindu family making them a scapegoat.

As the sub-plot of the play, Farazi has tried to focus on the characterless typical village leaders who believe in supernatural power like pirs.

Farazi's play is not well constructed and contains slang. He failed to show the racial issue which is the main theme of the play.

Humayun Kabir's directorial works need to be improved. Unnecessarily a narrator unfolds the story at the beginning of the play rather than presenting the story from myth or well-noted story. It would have been appropriate if the script was based on the legendary See-Morag. He has tried to handle the play realistically.

The haphazardly done set designs by Mezbaur Rahman's neither had any aesthetic value nor could represent the theme of the play. Light design was very simple; it did not co-ordinate well with the acting cues.

Performers need to strengthen their acting skills.

Samina Lutfa Nitra
The only female playwright at the festival
Nitra's play Tirthankar has been well appreciated by the audience. A regular member of Shubochon Natya Shongshod, Samina Luthfa Nitra is one of the very few female stage playwrights in Bangladesh whose plays have been staged. At present, her popular play Tirthankar is being staged on a regular basis. Talking about her play at the on going drama festival, Nitra said. 'I have adapted the Persian epic Shahanama. I created Tirthankar based on the epic, adding contemporary socio-political crisis. In that sense it a crisis play.'

A lecturer of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Nitra added, 'I am not yet satisfied with the work in Tirthankar. Some critics pointed out certain areas where there is scope for improvement.'

Nitra has now almost finished another script for her own group. It is on Khana, the proverbial wizard who has narrated all the secrets of the nature in a verse form. I have introduced Khana in a different way. I think her verses are a collective work. Khana's father in-law was hostile towards her because she was from a disadvantaged background and her in-laws did not take her popularity in a positive way either. That is why Khana is my protagonist. I have not tried to represent her as a foretelling genius. In this play, I have tried to deal with class conflict as well as the gender issue.'

Besides writing, she also plays the role of Tahmina in Tirthankar. However, Nitra is keen to establish her name as a playwright.

Ershad Kamol