William Shakespeare’s popular comedy Taming of the Shrew is a well-known and widely-staged play across the world in its original form and language as well as in other local forms and translations.
In Bangladesh, the play is staged mostly in its pleasing translation that was done by iconic theatre personality Munier Chowdhury with
the title- Mukhara Ramoni Bashikoron.As the play is a pure comedy, theatre troupes, mature and amateur, pursue only one goal while staging the play, which is to put the audience through a laugh riot.
However, most theatre-goers, even thespians like Ramendu Majumder and Jhuna Chowdhury, could not think that the play can be so exceedingly entertaining if staged in ‘clown form’.
Students/ artistes of Theatre and Performance Studies department of Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University created quite an impression by staging the play in ‘shong style’ on Saturday at Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
The production was staged as part of the three-day Munier Chowdhury Theatre Festival that ended on Sunday.
Young director Al Zabir was duly acclaimed by guests and audience for such an experiment. The director used the western clown, slapstick, harlequin styles and fused indigenous elements for the production. The play which has been slightly adapted used modern day Bangladeshi references like going to Star Kabab or having biryani, so that the crowd could relate to the play more, and it must be said that the strategy paid off well. The play also used indigenous music that served the same purpose.
Credit should also be given to the team of actors who were unfailingly buoyant, energetic and spontaneous. The main clown duo Tarequl Islam and SM Hasan Mahmud spiced the production with their intermittent entrances and entertaining performances.
Besides, the main point of the play, which is the taming of the shrew, was also well-executed.
Earlier on the same day, students/artistes of Drama and Dramatics department of Jahangirnagar University staged Munier Chowdhury’s short comic play Ektala Dotala.
The play, directed by Dr. Rashid Haroon, is a comic depiction of an affair between a bachelor doctor and a girl who live respectively on ground and first floors of a building.
-With New Age input
