Theatre festival ends in Sylhet

By Ershad Kamol
12 July 2005, 18:00 PM
Tarique Anam (R) and co-artise in Projapati
Drama festivals are frequently held in Dhaka. However, barring Chittagong, theatre does not have a strong base in the other districts of Bangladesh. Against this scenario, a five-day drama festival was organised by Sylhet Natyamancha in Sylhet, which ended on July 11. This was like a breath of fresh air to the local theatre buffs.

On July 7, the festival began with Prachyanat's staging of Eugene Ionesco's play Rhinoceros's translated version Gonder. Besides, Prachyanat, Natyakendra and Nagorik Natyangan also participated in the festival.

On July 8 and 9, Nagorik Natyangan staged Super Glue at Saifur Rahman Auditorium. The play is written and directed by Shaju Khadem. On July 10, Natyakendra staged two shows of their popular comedy Projapati, adapted and directed by Tarique Anam Khan.

After staging two shows of Projapati, an elated Tarique Anam Khan said, "This is the second time we are staging Projapati outside Dhaka. Earlier we had staged the play in Chittagong. In both places the play was well received. I believe that drama festivals should be organised frequently at the district level, so that there is balanced theatre participation."