Nattyateertha staged the 50th show of its debut production Komola Sundari as the closing performance of the five-day theatre festival at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh
Shilpakala Academy on Monday.
The festival titled Panchadasher Panchadin was organised by theatre troupe Nattyateertha in celebrating the 50th show of five plays including Loko Natyadal (Siddheshwari’s) Majhrater Manushera, Theatre Art Unit’s Amina Sundari, Somoy’s Shesh Sanglap, Natyateertha’s Dwip and Komola Sundari.
Abdul Halim Aziz has adapted the play from a ballad of Mymensingh Geetika titled Komola Sundorir Pala by poet Deej Eshan.
The musical directed by Tapan Hafiz, ends with a poetic justice following a series of struggles of the titular character Komola to unite with her beloved prince named Pradip Kumar.
With acoustics of bamboo flute, khol and harmonium, the actors performed spontaneously onstage with costumes, which were quite intriguing as all performers wore the same outfit with only slight variations in shade and design, or addition of simple accessories.
‘I have kept the costumes for everyone same more or less, because it is difficult to decipher what kind of attires were worn ages ago. Some variations have been made in order to portray different characters and their ranks, for instance, an embellished stole has been added to the king’s costume for distinction,’ Tapan Hafiz, the play director explains.
According to him, he has also experimented with the set design which was actually minimalistic in comparison to the typical illustrative backdrops in other plays in the town.
Earlier, a short concluding ceremony was held in which the troupe conferred honour upon Abdul Halim Aziz for his contributions in the theatre arena. Liaqat Ali Lucky, director general of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy handed over an honorary award as the chief guest.
The auditorium was packed with a large audience. ‘The play stood out for me due to its beautiful music,’ said Nashid Hasan after enjoying the show. Sumona Parvin, a student of Dhaka University, observed that the acting of the performers were quite convincing, however, the play needed something colourful for the backdrop for visual appeal.
-With New Age input
