Ganga Jamuna Theatre Festival
Three dark comedies to be staged today
On the second day of the Ganga Jamuna Theatre Festival, three dark comedies will be staged at the three venues of
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy today.
Nagarik Natyangan will stage Pushi Biral O Ekjon Prokrito Manush at the National Theatre Hall, Dhaka Padatik will stage Paicho Chorer Kissa at the Experimental Theatre Hall and Nagarik Natyangon Ensemble will stage Jugolbondi at the Studio Theatre Hall.
There are both resemblances and anomalies in these three plays in terms of settings and plots. And in general it can be said that all of these productions satirise the human psychology and socio-political issues. Directed by Lucky Enam, Pushi Biral O Ekjon Prokrito Manush has been translated by Proity Huq from the radio play ‘The Pussycat and the Expert Plumber’ written by the American playwright Arthur Miller.
Set against the backdrop of the Billington city, the imaginary play features a cat named Tom, owned by George and Adily Beekar, suddenly starts speaking like a man. The political satire shows how Tom manipulates the key personalities of the city and participates in the Mayoral poll of the city. Tom’s conspiracy is unveiled when Sam, the plumber, finds out the scheme.
Another dark comedy Paicho Chorer Kissa – based on a traditional fairy tale directed by Kazi Chapal – features life, fate and deeds of a thief named Paicho, the protagonist of the play, who is assigned by the Kote Raja to steal a princess whom he loves. To fulfill the desire of the king, Paicho starts his mission and successfully steals the daughter of King of Moheshwari with his tricks. The protagonist’s role is just too full of deception for anyone to detect and his charming personality is too hard to resist.
Nagorik Natyangan Ensemble, on the other hand, will stage popular Indian satirist Manmoj Mitra’s comedy Jugalbandi directed by Jamaluddin Hossain. The play sheds light on the dark side of the political practices in the subcontinent through a bizarre storyline where a lunatic reasons with the king – who is depressed after the birth of deformed twin sons – and tries to show the benefits of having twins who are joined at the backs.
-With New Age input
