History and conflict depicted on stage

Shilpakala Academy stages saw two popular plays yesterday at the city's Segun Bagicha area. Padatik Natya Sangsad staged their much acclaimed Liberation War based production 'Kaal Ratri' at 7pm at the Experimental Hall and Prangonemor staged their notable play 'Irsha' at the National Theater Hall at the same time.

'Kaal Ratri' is the 38th production of Padatik Natya Sangsad. Tanvir Ahmed Sydney has dramatized the play from a story titled 'Lone Survivor' by Shireen Hossain.  The play is a narrative from a torture camp of Pakistani Military during the Liberation War. The story encircles the night of March 25, 1971 when Pakistani military killed thousands of innocent Bangladeshis. 

The play unfolds as a young girl asks his grandfather, who was a teacher of Dhaka University in 1971, about the war.  Through stories and her encounter with a wounded freedom fighter, the girl gets to know about the war and its sheer horror.

On the other hand, Irsha is the 8th production of theater troupe Prangonemor. The story of the poetical drama Irsha is so touchable with life and life full of conflict-clash which indescribably done. Conflict between art with art, artist with artist also focuses the inner intellectual dept of the drama and love between artist with artist, man with man simply identifies sexual relation.

The play also sketches some complicated human relationships on stage, in an abstract way. The dialogues, through which the play goes forward, do not follow a particular storyline and highlight the beauties of rural Bangla, plenty and greenery of harvesting fields as well as the spirit of the War of Liberation.

The author describes to audience the color, taste, smell, and palpability of rural Bengali beauty. According to the playwright, life is shorter in comparison with the art. And, this artistic value of life has been depicted on stage through the visionary eyes of Syed Shamsul Haq in an epic style for the play. Based on Lamisa Shirin Hossain's story 'The Lone Survivor', the play 'Kaal Ratri' has been adapted by Tanvir Ahmed.