Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy organised a two-day Munier Chowdhury theatre festival featuring four plays by the martyr
intellectual at the Studio Theatre Hall of the academy.
Three public universities and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy staged the plays at the festival organised as part of the academy’s yearly programme of commemorating the great cultural personalities of the country.
The festival ended on Saturday through staging of Chowdhury’ Rupar Kouta and Danda produced by theatre department of Chittagong University and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy respectively.
On the inauguration day, Chowdhury’s classic Kabar was staged by the theatre department of Kabi Nazrul Islam University. Theatre and music department of Rajshahi University staged Munier Chowdhury’s another play Marmantik on Friday.
Eminent poet-playwright Syed Shamsul Haque inaugurated the festival. Munier Chowdhury’s son Asif Munier and director of the department of theatre and film of the academy Sarah Ara Mahmud delivered speeches at the programme presided over by director general of the academy Liaquat Ali Lucky.
In his speech Syed Shamsul Haque shared his memories with Munier Chowdhury, who inspired Haque to write plays. ‘I’m really grateful to Munier Chowdhury who insisted me writing plays,’ Haque said.
Following the discussion Kabi Nazrul Islam University staged Kabar, which was directed by Syed Mamun Reza.
Kabar features an imaginary resurrection of the language movement martyrs, who deny to follow the order of the representatives of the Pakistani regime of returning to grave.
Subsequently, Rajshahi University staged Marmantik, directed by Arif Hayder.
The musical satirises the abusive attitude of some university teachers towards their female students forgetting the noble teacher-student relation.
‘It’s a challenging production as I’ve convert Chowdhury’s satire to a musical. Doing that I’ve used popular relevant songs with Chowdhury’s dialogue dictions,’ Arif Hayder, director of the play said.
He further claimed that Marmantik had never been staged in the past 50 years by any troupe.
-With New Age input
