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The Centre for Asian Theatre (CAT), in collaboration with Border/Granslandet of Sweden, staged the play ‘The Dumb Waiter’ by Nobel laureate Harold Pinter on January 18 at the Natmandal auditorium in Dhaka University.
   This was a stimulating performance by two graduates, Zubair Sharif and Tony Blom, of the Wendelsberg Theatre School and Scene of Sweden. Zubair was the brains behind the staging of this unique play; as a part of his final year project, Zubair decided to perform the drama here in his native country. Tony Blom, a graduate from the same institution and a fellow acquaintance of Zubair, decided to abet his friend by also performing in the play.
   The Dumb Waiter is a remarkable story written by British playwright Harold Pinter. Based on a simple plot with two unique characters Ben and Gus, the story is simple yet the underlying themes are coherent.
   The character Ben is played by Tony whilst Gus is Sharif. The play begins with the introduction of two men lying on two separate beds in a room located in a building’s basement. Unlike the routine of a regular person, both men commence their work at night.
   Ben and Gus are partners in crime. Ben, being the senior criminal, has always suppressed his apprentice Gus in all matters.
   The issue of superiority is repeatedly displayed by Ben to remind Gus that he is working not ‘with’ him but ‘under’ him. Throughout the whole play, it is apparent that Gus is annoyed over the fact that he has to perform his duties without any questions. The level of curiosity within Gus is extremely high.
   The main plot of the drama revolves around the dumb waiter. A dumb waiter is a small appliance similar to an elevator which is used as a medium of transporting commodities between various floors in a residential or commercial building. Apparently the basement, in which Ben and Gus reside, was the kitchen of a café which was located above them.
   They receive numerous food orders from above but are unable to provide any assistance. In the end, it becomes a story of mistrust and betrayal.
   Harold Pinter’s classical tale, The Dumb Waiter, is regarded as one of his best works. The story denotes two fundamental themes; the social differences between two individuals and how this difference has a pessimistic effect on people. Another underlying theme is about the infidelity among people. Like all his other plays, Pinter used ‘silent pauses’ as his ultimate instrument in order to convey his thoughts and ideas. The specialty of Pinter’s plays is the use of minimum props and his sets are, in most cases, plain and sparse but meaningful.
   ‘The Dumb Waiter’ by Harold Pinter, Cast: Zubair Sharif- Gus, Tony Blom- Ben, Total time: 1hour 10 minutes, Lighting: Johan Lidstrom, Sound: Ahsan Reza Khan.

The Sundance Film Festival, the world’s top independent movie showcase and a hotspot for Hollywood deal-making, kicked off in the Utah Mountains with a flurry of parties and premieres.
   Some 120 feature and documentary films from 32 countries will be presented over 10 days in the packed Park City ski resort during the 25th edition of the event, launched by movie star Robert Redford in 1981.
   As in previous years, the 2006 festival, peppered by movies about the war in Iraq, immigration and US politics, is expected to see the discovery of a host of unknown ‘small’ movies that could go on to become major global commercial hits.
   Hollywood stars, movie moguls, star gazers and anxious independent filmmakers arrived to a fresh blanket of snow searching for the right deal, the next hit and entertainment.
   This year’s festival started Thursday with the premiere of a dramatic comedy titled ‘Friends With Money,’ starring Hollywood darling Jennifer Aniston and will feature a total of 85 world premieres.
   Some 64 movies will compete for prizes in the top US and international drama and documentary categories at the festival, which runs from January 19 to 29.
   Among the other offerings this year are several documentaries about the Iraq conflict, including ‘Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends,’ by Patricia Foulkrod, detailing the experiences of US soldiers during training, in combat in Iraq and later returning to America.
   ‘Iraq in Fragments’ from director James Longley, tells the story of Iraqis living in war conditions, under occupation and amid ethnic tension.

Venue: Central Public Library Auditorium
   11:00am
   The Wind Paper, director: Ali Zamani, Iran
   Narrow Alleys, director: Ali Zamini, Iran
   1:00pm
   Country Focus: Australia
   Yellow Pella, Lore of Love, Our Bush Wedding and Endangered
   3:30pm
   Zhanhao & the Butterfly Lovers, (30 minutes, short & independent), director: Zhu Aiwu, China
   Exodus, director: Sherman Ong, Hong Kong
   Bravo South China, director: Xue Yaning, China
   5:30pm
   The Old Couple, director: Gene Saks, USA, 1967
   7:30pm: Time of Violence, director: Lyudmil Staikov, Bulgaria
   Venue: National Museum Auditorium
   11:00am
   Falcons, Iceland
   The Bank, director: Robert Connolly, Australia
   3:30pm
   The Navigator, director: Vincent Ward, New Zealand
   5:30pm
   Duratta, director: Morshedul Islam
   7:30pm
   Café Transit, Kambozia Partovi, Iran
   Venue: Goethe-Institute
   11:00am
   Stolen Eyes, director: Radoslav Spassov, Bulgaria
   1:00pm
   The Blue Veiled, director: Rakhshan Bani Etemad, Iran
   3:00pm
   Hating Alison Ashley, director: Geof Bennett, Australia
   5:00pm
   Miss Sweden, director: Tova Magnusson Norling, Sweden
   7:00pm
   Uttara, director: Buddhadeb Dasgupta, India
   Venue: Russian Cultural Centre
   2:00pm: Cometh the Cloud Cometh the Rain, director: Moushumi, Bangladesh
   4:30pm:
   Shadow Boxing, director: Alexey Sidorov, Russian
   7:00pm: Shangkhanad, director: Abu Sayeed

Soul legend Wilson Pickett, best known for songs like ‘In The Midnight Hour’ and ‘Mustang Sally’ died of a heart attack. He was 64.
   ‘He had been ill for a while and was forced in 2005 to take a hiatus from performing,’ his manager Margo Lewis said.
   Born in Alabama, Pickett moved to Detroit as a teenager and joined the Falcons, a group which also included another future soul star Eddie Floyd, singing on their 1962 gospel-inspired R and B hit ‘I Found a Love.’
   By 1965, he had signed a solo deal with Atlantic, scoring a chart hit with ‘In the Midnight Hour,’ which he co-wrote and cut at the famed Stax studio in Memphis.
   Among the soul classics he recorded at the time were ‘Mustang Sally,’ ‘Funky Broadway’ and his biggest hit of all, ‘Land of 1,000 Dances’ which reached number six on the pop charts.
   Pickett’s last big hit was ‘Fire and Water’ in 1972, after which his career went into something of a slump although he continued to perform to enthusiastic audiences.
   Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame in 1991. His last studio album, ‘It’s Harder Now,’ was released in 1999 to favourable reviews.

Starring :
   Voice of Jennifer Tilly, Voice of Brad Dourif, Voice of Billy Boyd
   Here's Chucky! The fifth installment of the cult horror 'Child's Play' series introduces Glen (voiced by "The Lord of the Rings" star Billy Boyd), the orphan doll offspring of the irrepressible devilish-doll-come-to-life Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) and his equally twisted bride Tiffany (voiced by Jennifer Tilly). When production starts on a movie detailing the urban legend of his parents' lethal exploits, Glen heads for Hollywood where he brings his bloodthirsty parents back from the dead. The family dynamics are far from perfect as Chucky and Tiffany go Hollywood and get rolling on a new spree of murderous mayhem; much to gentle Glen's horror. Chucky can't believe that his child doesn't want to walk in his murdering footsteps, and star-struck Tiffany can't believe that the movie will star her favorite actress, Jennifer Tilly (playing herself), who soon becomes an unwitting hostess to this new family in more ways than one...