Theatre troupe Drishtipaat has gone to Kolkata to stage two shows of its latest production Raja Himadri, an adaptation of Sophocles’ classic Oedipus Rex.
‘Raja Himadri will be staged on July 23 at the Kamarhati Nazrul Mancha in a theatre festival called International Bangla Natyamela, arranged by Prachya. On the following day, the play will be staged at Rabindra Bharati University,’ Tazmi Noor, director of the play told New Age before leaving Dhaka on Sunday.
‘Another show of the play is likely to be staged at Tapan Theatre Hall in Kolkata. All members related to the production are ecstatic and excited to give their best performances,’ Noor added. A 13 member team has left for the shows in Kolkata.
In his adaptation, Tazmi has converted the names of the characters, places and the plot of the Greek tragedy to give it a sub-continental touch and make it suitable for the contemporary audience of the region. The storyline, however, remains the same.
The adapted play is set at a Himalayan terrain named Pragjotispur where Himadri has been declared the king in gratitude for freeing the innocent people of the land from the atrocities of the demon Sangramvi.
The queen of the state Indrani, the widow of the former king Chandrashekher, marries the new king.
The fate of Raja Himadri, then, follows the dreadful prediction of the blind seer. The king gouges his eyes upon unearthing of the unbearable truth that hehimself, unknowingly, has killed his father Chandrashekhar and married his own mother.
-With New Age input
