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Centre for Asian Theatre will organise the International Ibsen Seminar and Theatre Festival in Dhaka from November 12 to November 22.
   As a part of the 11-day programme, the organisers will arrange an art exhibition based on eminent playwright late Selim Al-Din’s life and his plays from November 14, the organisers told media at a press conference at the National Press Club on Monday.
   Entries are invited from the students of local art institutions and the last date for submitting the artworks focusing on various aspects of Selim Al-Din’s life or images from his plays is November 5, said the organisers.
   Entries submitted in the competition will be selected for an art exhibition to begin on November 14 and continue till November 23.
   The organisers expect at least 200 entries and half of the sale proceeds will go to Selim Al-Din Foundation.
   The first prize carries a cash award of Taka 50 thousand, the second Taka 30 thousand and the third prize will include a cash of Taka 20 thousand.
   The IITF programme coordinator professor Shafi Ahmed, noted theatre personality Nasiruddin Yousuff, Selim Al-Din Art Exhibition convenor Shahjahan Ahmed Bikash, CAT secretary general Mosharraf Hossain Tutul and noted actor and CAT executive member Rokeya Rafiq Baby spoke at the Meet the Press programme.
   The organisers also informed the media that noted professors and researchers from home and abroad will participate in the fourth IITF in Bangladesh.
   The scholars will present research papers in the three-day seminar titled ‘Ibsen through new eyes: freedom and religion’, they added.
   Theatre groups from Egypt, Iran, India, Nepal, Pakistan and the host Bangladesh will stage 21 plays written by Henrik Ibsen. Apart from these, the organisers will also arrange film shows on Ibsen’s life and a special workshop titled ‘Ibsen Lab’.

The joint exhibition of jute crafts titled ‘Lifestyle Today’ by the designers Bimal Bihari Banik and Irani Ahmed is being held at Shilpangon Art Gallery in Dhanmondi. The exhibition, inaugurated on October 16, will remain open from 2:00pm to 8:00pm today.
   The exhibition features mainly home decoration with the crafts which are made of jute. The crafts include cushion, curtain, wall-mat, floor-mat, table-mat, bed sheet and sofa-mat. The designers have used muslin, lather, ribbon, button and shell as materials with jute in making designs.
   Dividing their designs for three sections, ‘guest room’, ‘dining room’ and ‘bedroom’, they have prepared the designs. Using bright colours, the designers have designed the cushions with the motifs of leaf and branches of trees.
   They have also illustrated natural scenes including that with the shining moon behind a bamboo garden. They have put importance on the floral designs too.
   The dining room illustrations present mainly geometrical shapes and symbols. They have designed mats for chair, table and cookeries. They have also designed curtains to be hung in dining rooms. The curtains which are made of fine jute and pieces of muslin enhance the beauty of the room.
   The designers have used abstract designs in their bedroom decoration. Using soft shades of colours, they have created a dreamy world.
   The exhibition is the result of the designers’ ten years of efforts in this sector. They have been working to create awareness in using jute crafts in the country.
   ‘We don’t want the tradition of using jute-crafts in our country to be extinct, we want its revival,’ said Bimal Bihari Banik.
   Bimal Bihari Banik and Irani Ahmed completed their education from the fine arts faculty of Dhaka University in 1978.

A clump of hair believed to have been trimmed from Elvis Presley’s head when he joined the US Army in 1958 has been sold for $15,000 in Chicago, reports BBC.
   The item was among 200 Elvis-related items up for sale at the auction including sweat-stained scarves, bathrobes and records.
   A shirt that once belonged to the King also sold for $52,000.
   All the items had belonged to the late Gary Pepper, who ran a fan club and was a friend of the singer.
   One buyer snapped up a set of concert-used handkerchiefs for $732 including auction house fees, while photos from the reception of Presley’s 1967 wedding to Priscilla, sold for nearly $6,000.
   Chicago’s Leslie Hindman auctioneers did not provide details of the people who purchased the items.
   Pepper, who had cerebral palsy, died in 1980. A portion of the proceeds from Sunday’s auction will go to United Cerebral Palsy of the Mid-South.

Last year’s X Factor winner Alexandra Burke has beaten Robbie Williams to the top of the UK single charts after both performed on the show last weekend.
   Bad Boys, featuring US rapper Flo Rida, sold more than twice as many copies (185,000) as Robbie’s comeback single Bodies, which charted at number two.
   Last week’s number one, Oopsy Daisy by Chipmunk, slipped to number three, the Official UK Charts Company (OUCC) said.
   Alexandra’s debut Hallelujah was the best-selling single of 2008.
   Bad Boys is comfortably the fastest-selling single of 2009 so far - beating Dizzee Rascal’s Bonkers, which was number one for two weeks.
   Bodies’ sales of 90,000 would have easily given Williams the number one in almost any other week, the OUCC said.
   It is the 20th top five single – including six number ones – of his 13-year solo career and comes ahead of the release of his album Reality Killed the Video Star next month.
   Speaking about her latest success, Burke said: ‘I’m blown away... I’ve been recording my album for the last six months, so I’m hugely excited to finally be sharing my music with everyone.

A two-day children theatre festival organised by Bangladesh Children Theatre Federation was held at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy from Sunday.
   Six children theatre groups took part in the theatre festival that was a part of the federation’s ongoing four-day children festival marking World Children’s Day that fell on October 16.
   Everyday three theatre groups performed their plays focusing on the issues related to the children’s rights.
   The theatre festival was started with the presentation of the play ‘Dui Bigha Zami’ scripted by Shafiqur Rahman Takdir from Tagore’s poem of the same title. The play directed by Shafikul Islam Dablu was presented by Paribartan Theatre.
   Kishore Theatre staged the second play of the festival ‘Emon Jodi Hoto’ written and directed by Hanif Khan. The main roles of the play were played by Takia Taher Oishi and Esha. The play conveyed the message to the audience that the ongoing wars in Iraq and Palestine like the previous wars were violating the children’s rights. The audience applauded the performers while the young actors were declaring their firm opposition to war.
   Kanon Children Theatre staged the last play ‘Hature Dactar’ written and directed by Sharmin Rahman Shanta.
   Bangladesh Children Theatre Federation secretary Shafiqul Islam Dablu and Hanif Khan of Kishore Theatre, among others, addressed the audience.
   The organisers arranged the shows of ‘Khuki’ directed by Abida Rahman and presented by Kendrioyo Alor Bhubhan, ‘Bhul’ directed by Shaiqul Islam and Phool Pakhi Shishu Mela and ‘Satyikarer Manush’ directed by Shahida Surovi and presented by Duranta Theatre.
   The federation distributed about 100 prizes among the children participating in music, dance and art competitions.

Exhibitions
   Cartoon and photography exhibition
   Organised by Prothom Alo
   Time: from 12:00pm to 8:00pm
   Date: from October 17 to October 24
   Venue: Jatiya Chitrashala Plaza
   Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy
   Segun Bagicha, Dhaka
   
   Nature is a Beauty
   By Abu Salim
   Time: 10:00am to 12:00pm and
   5:00pm to 8:30pm
   Date: October 8 to October 21
   Venue: Alliance Française De Dhaka
   26 Mirpur Road,
   Dhanmondi,
   Dhaka
   Jute and textile products exhibition
   Life Style Today
   By Bimal Banik and Irani Ahmed
   Time: 2:00pm to 8:00pm
   Date: October 16 to October 20
   Venue: Shilpangan Art Gallery
   House 26, road 3,
   Dhanmondi,
   Dhaka
   Film show
   Film show at Star Cineplex
   Monpura
   Britter Bairey
   Rambo 4
   Slumdog Millionaire
   Basundhara City Shopping Mall
   Panthapath, Dhaka