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As part of an eight-day theatre festival organised by the Shilpakala Academy and incorporating groups from different districts, Natun Kunri Natyachakra, a theatre group from Chandpur staged its latest play Atalsparshi Anubhab at the Experimental Theatre Hall on Wednesday.
   The play portrays the agony and the conflict of the middle class people.
   Focusing on the young generation, the play revolves around two major characters, Palash and Shimul who become very frustrated.
   Palash, the youngest son of a traditional middle class family is a drunkard and believes that society is responsible for his present state of life.
   In order to lead a civilised life he often thinks about changing his way of life and as a result, becomes desperate and aggressive to prove his power and existence in society.
   Though he gets money for carrying out nefarious tasks, frustration does not leave him.
   On the contrary, Shimul, the elder brother of Palash seeks peace and reads novels, poems and history reminiscing about past glories.
   The parents of these two become very worried as both the sons are jobless and live in deep frustration.
   The director very aptly presents the performances of Shimul and Palash through soliloquy.
   In the last scene of the drama, the playwright shows optimistic views in removing social unrest for the sake of the young generation.
   Jahan, a theatre buff said, ‘I enjoyed a good production after a long time.
   The successful presentation of allusions and using of light and shadow on the stage were excellent and these made the performances livelier’.
   Bibhas Majumder’s set-design, Himu Sen’s music and Harry Mandal’s costume make the play a success.
   The play is scripted and directed by Shambhu Acharji and Swapan Saha respectively and different roles are played by Jannatul Ferdous, Govinda Mandal, Gautam Chowdhury and the director himself. All the characters did justice to the script.

The premiere of tele-cinema ‘Sundari Beula’, based on Al Mahmud’s well-read short story titled Jalbeshya, will be aired at 3:00pm on Channel-i.
   The tele-cinema is directed by Sadek Siddique, while Lal Mohammad has worked on cinematography.
   Among others, Jana Afrin, Helal Khan, Shams Suman, Koli, Keya Chowdhury, Abul Hossain, Jillur Rahman, Golam Ambia Nuri and the director are in the cast.
   Popular singer Momtaj has sung in the film along with Manju Saha, Anne Imtiaz, Lina Khandakar and Momin Thakur. Yusuf Khan has directed the dance sequences.
   Talking about his initiative in making a film on Al Mahmud’s story, the director said that in a birthday celebration programme of Al Mahmud, he got a lot of information on Al Mahmud’s short stories.
   ‘In that programme, Goutam Chakrabarti said that Al Mahmud’s stories are very rich and suitable for filming.
   I became inspired and started reading his stories,’ he continued, ‘I chose ‘Jalbeshya’ for filming and started research on the Bedey people.’
   The director further said that he moved from Sirajganj to Munsiganj to observe the lifestyle of the Bedey community.
   ‘I have used the language they use and their costume to make the film more realistic,’ he said.
   About presenting Al Mahmud’s story he added,
   ‘The poet has given a detailed description on the life of the Bedey and their exploitation.
   But, to make the story suitable for film, I have excluded some scenes and have put four songs.
   About the format of the film, the director commented that, this was due to budget constrains.
   ‘I had plans to make it a full length feature film, but I did not get monetary support; however I refuse to let go of my plan; in the future I will make it into a full length feature film,’ he added.

With a new production about Libya’s colourful leader Muammar Gaddafi, the English National Opera boldly goes where no opera house has gone before.
   Gaddafi which opens in September, will feature Asian beats and rap in place of arias and romance, and the title role will be performed by a 39-year-old Irish-Indian nightclub MC called JC-100.
   The opera tackles some of Libya’s most controversial moments on the world stage, including US attacks on the country in 1986, the Lockerbie disaster of 1988 and the shooting of police officer Yvonne Fletcher outside Libya’s London embassy in 1984.
   Little wonder its creators see the project as high risk for one of Britain’s two main opera houses.
   ‘It’s absolutely unprecedented,’ said Steve Chandra Savale of the Asian Dub Foundation, who composed the music.
   At a workshop rehearsal in West London, JC-100, dressed in khaki fatigues and sporting dark glasses, utters totalitarian mantras like: ‘Women, free yourselves from the imams’ and ‘Guns are beauty. With them you are angels of revolutionary purity.’
   Two ‘revolutionary nuns,’ modeled on Gaddafi’s infamous female bodyguards, tout replica rifles as they sing: ‘God keep our leader safe’ and ‘For him we give up our mind and beauty.’
   Savale and director David Freeman insist the opera is not a spoof of a leader often portrayed in the West as a loose cannon and dictator, but who has won his way back into U.S. and British affections in recent years.
   ‘The piece certainly doesn’t present him in a purely positive light,’ Freeman explained.

Mamtaz Begum, a popular singer in the country is going to sign an agreement with Square Toiletries Ltd on May 7. Managing director of the company Anjan Chowdhury and Mamtaz Begum will be present on the occasion.