Shurjomukho
As part of the ongoing drama festival, Muktamancha Theatre staged M Rafiqul Islam's play Shurjomukho. The play was set against the backdrop of the Communist revolution, spearheaded by the proletariat for their rights ,that took place in Latin American countries such as Bolivia, Peru and others.
Through the protagonist Arnesto's tragic death, the playwright has established the image of an ideal revolutionary who never compromises with the ruling regime. As the subplot of the play he shows the harm wrought by the collaborators in the course of a revolution. Due to the personal benefit of Parera another character in the play, the whole movement comes to an end and the leader Arnesto dies soon after his capture by the army.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. M Rafiqul Islam's play is not well constructed. He has portrayed a fragmented picture of the Latin American Communist revolution. The events take place in a forest where all the characters are engaged in a battle. Through the reminiscence of some characters, he has tried to indicate--even if ineptly-- the logic behind their revolution.
As the director of the play, Shahidul Haque Khan's approach is realistic. He has followed the European Theatre trend. He basically emphasised on the dialogue of the performers.
Shahidul Islam, as the set designer, has used some stools at several parts of the stage to create a suggestive atmosphere of the den of a revolutionary army. His light design is also very simple, but did not co-ordinate well with the acting cues.
All the artistes should give more effort to make the foreign story-based play more interesting to the audience. Moreover, they should also concentrate on the pronunciation.