Cultural Desk
The five-day theatre festival titled ‘Dhaka-Delhi Theatre Festival’ concluded at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on Saturday with the staging of the play ‘Payer Awaj Pawa Jay’ by the troupe Theatre (Baily Road) .
To celebrate the journey of 36 years, popular theatre troupe Mohakal Natya Sampraday organised the festival. Presided over by former president of Mohakal Natya Sampraday advocate Afzal Hossain, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni inaugurated the festival on February 26.
Directed by late theatre personality Abdullah Al Mamun, ‘Payer Awaj Pawa Jay’ is one of the masterpieces by prolific writer Syed Shamsul Haq. The production had its debut in 1976 and played an important role in the neo-theatre movement of Bangladesh. The play was recently redirected and designed by Sudip Chakroborthy.
‘Payer Awaj Pawa Jay’ is the first production of the country which had many shows in and outside of the country and earned international awards. Based on a story of a village, ‘Payer Awaj Pawa Jay’ zooms in on the brutal genocide and rape by the Pakistani occupation forces during the Liberation War in 1971. The cast of the play included Ferdousi Majumdar, Keramat Maola, Paresh Acharya, Tropa Majumdar, Khurshid Alam, Maruf Kabir, Tofa Hossain and Atikur Rahman in lead roles.
During the five-day festival, Living Opera Theatre from Delhi staged one of its play ‘Ek Prem Katha’. Besides, local troupes Loko Natyadal, Natya Teertha and host troupe Mohakal Natya Sampraday brought their plays on stage at the festival.
