Theatre troupe Palakar launches rooftop studio with play ‘Hajar Churashi’

After a long hiatus, theatre troupe Palakar is returning with a new production, “Hajar Churashi,” while inaugurating its new performance space, Palakar Rooftop Studio.

The studio, built on the rooftop of Bishal Centre in Moghbazar, will officially open on June 26 at 7:00pm. Veteran theatre personality Mamunur Rashid will inaugurate the venue before the opening performance.

Written and directed by Shamim Sagar, the production draws inspiration from “Hajar Churashir Maa” by Mahasweta Devi. 

Set in the cold confines of a government hospital morgue, the play centres on the lifeless body of a young man named Shubho, identified only by the tag number 1084 after sacrificing his life resisting oppression. When his mother, Rahela Begum, arrives to identify the body, she confronts a society where opportunists repeatedly reinvent themselves to remain close to power. The production examines not only a post-mortem of a single body but also the moral decay, hypocrisy and opportunism embedded within society.

Explaining the adaptation, Sagar said, “Mahasweta Devi’s timeless novel ‘Hajar Churashir Maa’ has always stood as a powerful protest against injustice and a profound testament to humanity. This adaptation grew out of that conviction. Theatre should not merely reflect its time, but also reveal the wounds hidden beneath it. Through this production, I have tried to explore the hypocrisy and opportunism of the so-called civil society alongside the shifting dynamics of political power.”

According to the troupe, the production will have three performances in its first run on June 26, 27 and 28, all beginning at 7:00pm. The inaugural show on June 26 will be reserved for invited guests because of limited seating, while the remaining two performances will be open to the public.

Between 2004 and 2010, Palakar regularly staged intimate studio theatre productions at its former Palakar Studio on Dilu Road and Bailey Road. Among its notable productions were “Project Hundred Plus,” “Death Knocks,” “Timescope,” “Mrittikakumari,” “Dakghar,” “Bason,” and “Request Concert.”