Anti-war play at Shilpakala

Societal Events Report :Popular theatre troupe, Swapnadal staged its much-acclaimed anti-war production titled Tringsha Shatabdee at the Studio Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the city’s Segunbagicha area on February 10. It was 61st production of play Tringsha Shatabdee. The show of Tringsha Shatabdee, which also marked the protest against wars across the world. Tringsha Shatabdee, which has been written by Badal Sarkar and directed by Zahid Repon, is an anti-war theatre production mainly based on the atom-bomb tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the World War II. But the terrible wars of the world history, including Bosnia, Palestine, recent Afghanistan-Iraq-Syria war and the Liberation War of Bangladesh are also the important issues of the production. Swapnadal premiered the production in 2002. Since then, the troupe has been trying to establish anti-war consciousness by performing this production across the country. Director of the play Zahid Repon told this correspondent, “As a country of communal harmony, Bangladesh has a long history and we do not want any vandalism in the country anymore in the name of religion. Through Tringsha Shatabdee, we want to remind theatre-lovers and peace-loving people of our own philosophy of secularism and peace.” Tringsha Shatabdee, that speaks for promoting of peace all over the world, opens with a narrator who raises questions about the war and seeks speedy trial of the culprits involved in war-criminals of 1971. The narrator interrogates some historical characters such as Einstein (who invented the theory of atom bomb), Major Fereby (the pilot of the aircraft that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima), and Major Claude Itharby (who carried the nuclear bomb to Nagasaki and later became insane on his realisation of the crime). In addition, he has raised questions about contemporary brutal war waged by the American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. And through a replicated military exercise, he has depicted the nuclear activities by the global superpowers. In a transformation, the narrator of the play becomes a character, namely Sumon, who wants the trial of war criminals acted against the country’s Liberation War during 1971. From here on, the play turns itself into the context of Bangladesh and throws light on the war criminals. Sumon manages to collect some evidence against a few war criminals after his successive endeavours. But, all his efforts are nipped in the bud when these criminals take safe shelter under the shade of politics. As the story progresses, Sumon goes insane when he comes to know about the real picture of the war punishment. The cast of the play included Zahid Repon, Farzana Rahman Mita, Saifunnesa Jebu, Fazle Rabbi Sukorno, Madhury Bepary Sumi, Hasan Rezaul, Shishir Sikder, Rakib Hossain, Amjad Sharif, Mostafizur Rahman, among others.