Playwright & Director: Azad Abul Kalam
Group: Prachyanat, Bangladesh
Language: Bengali
Duration: 1 hr 20 mins
The Play
The play starts with the entry of a garment owner forcing the labour to work, no matter what. The next scene shows garment workers with their everyday routine of working like a machine. Suddenly the building, where the labour is working, collapses and Taravan, the central character, wakes up to find the horror around herself. She is stuck in the debris and about to die in a few moments. But before she breathes her last, she takes a journey of reminiscences, scene by scene, to glance over her yet incomplete life.
Director’s Note
The owner of the Spectrum Sweater and Knitting factory is no different from million others who are inhuman in their approach to making money. The nine-storied building of the Spectrum factory at Polashbari in Savar collapsed at midnight on the 11th of April, 2015. The building had been tilting on one side and that night it came down and became a giant heap of rubble. The radio, TV and newspapers were flooded with information on the collapse, the deaths, and the agony.
But sooner than one can imagine, a public swamp was filled up and turned into a modern establishment and machines were running again, making export-oriented garment products. The authorities watched silently since they had already been well-fed.
The debris had turned into a grave of those who had small dreams which were yet to be fulfilled as opposed to the overflowing coffers of greedy, ugly, money-seeking dogs. Tragedy of Polashbari tries to convey the unfulfilled dreams of those simple, hardworking, innocent people.
The Director & Playwright
Azad Abul Kalam, born in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 26th of October 1966, is a director, playwright and actor. He received his M.A. in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Dhaka. In 1997, he, along with some of his colleagues, founded Prachyanat, a theatre troupe which is today one of the prominent theatre platforms in Dhaka. His major directorial works include Circus Circus (1998), Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons (2001), Koinna (2002), Bou Basanti (2004), Raja Ebong Annyanya (2008), Tragedy of Polashbari (2014) etc. He has also worked as a participant and director in Japan, UK and Denmark.
The Group
Besides producing four successful full-length plays, Prachyanat has as many as eight different programmes running at Prachyanat School of Acting and Design which was established in 2001. The school has successfully run thirty-six 6 month course batches while its thirty-seventh batch is already underway. Theatre-in-the-Open, Prachyanat for Children, Theatre-lab Production, Prachyanat Research Cell and The Musical Ensemble are part of the group’s creative approach.
Cast & Credits
Taravan | Parvin Sultana Koli, Parvin Paru, Shahana Sumi |
Husband/ Bujan/ Woman 1 | Mohammad Rafiq, Proddut Kumar Ghosh |
Osman/ Father-in-law/ Mother-in-law | Rifat Ahmed Nobel, Sudip Biswas, Shahriar |
Villager 1/ Woman 2 | Rana Jewel |
Villager/ Citizen/ Garment Worker | Gopi Devnath, Md. Farhad Ahmed, Moniruzzaman Fuad Bin Idris, Tanzi Kun |
Set & Lights | Abul Hashnat, Bhuiyan Ripon |
Set Assistant | Rezaul Reza, Shashanka Saha |
Light Assistant | Mokhlesur Rahman |
Music & Sound Design | Neel Kamrul |
Choreography | Snata Shahrin, Md. Farhad Ahmed |
Costume | Bilkis Jahan Joba |
Props | Afsan Anwar |
Props Assistance | Gopi, Naimee, Raka |
Video Art | Saiful Islam Jarnal |
Video Art Assistant | Al-Amin Khandaker, Rayhan Rafi, Rayhan Afser |
Poster, Leaflet, Ticket | Sabyasachi Hazra |
Music & Sound Implementation | Chetona Rahman Vasha, Bin-e-Amin Song Collection |
Song- Dhu Dhu Ghathay Deiya Theke… | Rontik Bipu |
Costume Assistant | Kamrun Nahar Moni |
Video Voice | Heera Choudhury, Aref Syed |
Photography | Zaid Islam, Prajna |
Set Making | Dip, Fuad, Arif, Raju, Rana, Avik, Pavel, Adnan, Evon, Atik, Emon, Ripa, Rita, Rinku |
Light Provider | Spotlight |
Hall Management | Prachyanat Members |
Production Management | Rifat Ahmed Nobel |
Production Management Assistance | Md. Sohel Rana |
Overall Supervision | Saiful Islam Jarnal |
Installation | ABS Xem |
Mask | Amy Trumpeter |
Special Gratitude | Humayun Kabir Himu, Idelic Design, Rajib-un-Nabi, Channel 24 |
Directorial Assistant | Prajna Tasnuva Rubayyat |
Assistant Directors | Jagonmoy Paul, Bakar Bakul |
Playwright & Director | Azad Abul Kalam |
Contacts
Prachyanat
278/3(3rd Floor) Katabon Dhal
Katabon Elephant Road, Dhaka
Bangladesh – 001205
M: +880 1712078123, 1819929397, 1715004075
E: prachyanat@gmail.com, azadak26@yahoo.com