Natya Parban '06 begins

A scene from the he street play Jantu

Pledging to fight against violence and militancy prevailing across the country, the festival will continue till March 11 with the slogan Amanishar Brityo Bhengey Mukto Natun Shokal Nachuk.

Following the inauguration by eminent dramatist Professor Selim Al Deen, a colourful rally was brought out. Vice Chancellor Professor Khandakar Mustahidur Rahman attended as chief guest. Translated and directed by Tarik Anam Khan from the main script of Thornton Wielder's The Matchmaker, Natyakendra staged the play titled Projapoti on the opening day.

JT, a member of Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation (BGTF), presented their new production Phoenix the following day. Shahtab Siddique Anik directed the improvised drama, which focuses on our Liberation War from a different point of view. Emotion, anger and blasphemy of the then society have been portrayed through different characters. Dramatised and directed by Zahir Ripon from a story by Kazi Nazrul Islam, Swapnodal will stage their production titled Padmagokhra on March 6. Based on Bangla natyareeti the drama deals with the endangered humanity in today's world. An evening of baul songs will be held the following day where Jahangir baul and his group will perform.

Written and directed by Rahul Anand, Prachyanat will stage street play Mandar on March 8 following the performance of Jantu, a street play by JT. Dramatised by Shahed Iqbal, the play is adopted and directed by Sheikh Mahmud Alok. Natyachakra will stage drama Bhaddornok, based on The Bourgeois Gentleman by Molliere, the following day. Adopted and directed by Golam Sarwar, the play satirically depicts the influence of civilisation on a villager and his amusing reaction to get used to it.

Shomoyer Proyojone, a drama by Theatre Art Unit, will be staged on March 10. Mohammad Bari dramatised and directed the short story by Zahir Raihan. The festival will wrap up with the staging of Shyamaprem, a drama by Prangone Mor. Dramatised by Chittaranjan Ghosh the play is directed by Ananto Hira.

A seminar will be held on March 9 at the seminar room of proposed Zahir Raihan auditorium. JT will also host a reception to Dr Biplob Bala and Kangalini Sufia on March 6 and 7 for their contribution to drama and music respectively. The programmes will be held at Muktomancho (Amphitheater) at 6:30 pm each day.