Culture Desk
Commemorating the martyrs who were killed on the horrific night of March 25, 1971 in a planned massacre carried out by the Pakistani Army, Padatik Natya Sangsad has arranged a special staging of the troupe’s latest play on the Liberation War, Kaalratri, tomorrow at the Jagannath Hall of Dhaka University at 7:30pm in the evening.
The play has been adapted by Tanvir Ahmed Sidney, based on Lamisa Shirin Hossain’s story Lone Survivor. Wahidul Islam directed the play, while Sanjib Kumar Dey and Atiqul Islam Joy designed the stage and lights respectively.
The 38th production of the troupe, Kaalratri delves into the underbelly of the Liberation War showing how Pakistani forces clamped down on civilians during 1971. It begins with an inquisitive girl asking her grandfather, a teacher of Dhaka University in 1971, about the war. Her curiosity is further intensified after an encounter with a wounded man, who happens to be a former student of her grandfather and a freedom fighter – the “lone survivor” of the original story.
Both the grandfather and his student then recall their experiences of the war. A student of Jagannath Hall of Dhaka University, the unnamed freedom fighter recounts how students and the people were forced to take up arms after the massacre on the night of March 25.
A realistic set design coupled with vivid imagery, and an audio-visual in the background is designed to give the audience a glimpse of what really happened in 1971
The play casts the likes of Sakhawat Hossain Shimul, Sanjida Parveen, Mohammad Imran Khan, Ikramul Islam, Jinia Azad, Tasmi Chowdhury, Syeda Shamsi Ara Sayeka and Farhad Sumon among others.
