THEATRE OF MADNESS, PASSION AND LOVE

Gone are the days when the theatre practioners of the country used to create stage plays out of nothing. Immediately after our war of liberation when the country emerged as an independent and sovereign country in the world map, our theatre art which used to be performed with an amateurish way merely for the sake of light entertainment got a new momentum. Believing in the age old maxim of THE golden period of Greek Theatre, which is still in vogue that 'A country is known by its stage', the theatre practitioners of the country had started to stage plays of varied genre. Plays by our own playwrights as well plays by foreign dramatists translated or adapted into.

Theatre groups in newly independent Bangladesh started to stage plays regularly in exchange of tickets on Mohila Samity and Girls' Guide House stages with missionary zeal and professional attitude. Theatre groups of Dhaka in those days used to have upto sixty performances on the stages of Mohila Samity and Guide House. Front ranking theatre groups of Dhaka from the seventies until the nineties staged extraordinary plays with scanty infrastructural support.
In fact, plays were staged with almost pre-historic light, sound and stage designing and subsequent paraphernalia. Our theatre in the first 30 years of our liberation was created almost in empty space without even minimum stage decor. The pioneers in this regard were Nagorik Natya Sampradaya, Theatre, Dhaka Theatre, Dhaka Padatik, Bahubchon and a few other groups. Our neo-theatre practice all over Bangladesh, especially in divisional headquarters followed suite. The time was favourable for breaking the barriers.

In those days almost all the theatre performances ran house-full.  There were no traffic congestions as it is now. Theatre-goers used to enjoy performances of plays in Mohila Samity and Girls' Guide House auditoriums in Dhaka. The space situation including port-city Chittagong, Khulna, Jessore, Rajshahi, Bogra, Dinajpur, Sylhet, Comilla, Noakhali, Mymensingh and other districts was no better than Dhaka. At that nascent period there was no enticement of innumerable television channels, except Bangladesh Television (BTV), to draw the actors to perform in exchange of an honorarium. Theatre practitioners all over the country for the last forty two years in Bangladesh rendered their strenuous services without any monetary benefit. It was done with a missionary zeal which could be termed as theatre of madness, passion and love. The experts, theatre actors and directors outside the country could not comprehend these special genres of theatre practices that were absolutely on a non-profit basis. The launching of any new productions was at times supported on self financing of the theatre practitioners themselves and once in a while by the enthusiastic Multi-National Organisations and Banks. Bangladesh Theatre was absolutely unique in its set-up, structure and practice.

A scene from ‘Payer Awaj Pawa Jai’.

Things have changed especially in the last 10 years. Theatre actors and back stage workers are now more inclined to be involved in the more than 20 private TV channels. They engage themselves in an innumerable number of television serials and single plays which is money generating for the participants. In spite of this hard truth, actors and technicians involved in different TV channels who were basically groomed on stage theatre, do not deliberately ignore the stage. It is just that they are presently not being able to give time to stage plays as they used to give earlier in spite of their earnestness will for obvious reason already explained.

They do not ignore the fact that a thespian is born on stage and there is no denying of the fact that stage is the breeding place of television and cinema actors. Therefore, under the present circumstances we need to have professional theatres like other developed or developing countries of the world. Apart from Bangladesh Shilpokola Academy's three modern auditoriums, we need to have modern auditoriums at least in four to five important places of Dhaka city. Due to persistent traffic congestions in the city, theatre goers from distant places, for example like Uttara cannot come to Bangladesh Shilpokola Academy to watch a play inspite of their sincere interest for a particular performance.

In spite of such constraints, there are attempts to establish a repertory or professional companies by a small group of theatre enthusiasts in the country. Repertory companies like 'Bangla Theatre' and 'Theatre Wala', were the pioneers in this regard but they could not sustain their efforts for long. Presently Bangladesh Shilpokola Academy Repertory Company with the assistance of our Ministry of Culture, 'Sunan', 'Aguntuk' and 'Natyam Repertory” are carrying on with the mission of professional theatre. 'Natyam Repertory” is going to have the 25th performances of 'Domer Mother' 05 December'14. “Domer Mother” is a very successful play on stage now. The play was written by Sadhona Ahamed and directed by Irin Pervin Lopa. These are some sporadic attempts towards the creation of professional theatre in our country. For sustainable professional theatre; the practitioners of theatre in the country need to have substantial subsidy from the Government as well as foundations and wealthy private organisations. All the National Theatres of developed or developing countries including the Royal Shakespeare company of England receive substantial subsides from the Government of UK. We desperately need to have that kind of support from the Government as well as private organisations and foundations to keep our theatre going with the continuous effort to improve of its quality in all respects as the age old maxim has not been redundant that, 'A country is known by its Stage'.

Ataur Rahman is an actor, director and writer.