A scene from Arakkhita. — Snigdha Zaman

Both local and foreign audiences critically acclaimed two adapted plays and an original play staged on the fourth day of the ongoing theatre festival organised by ITI Bangladesh Centre on Wednesday.
Desh Natok staged Arakkhita, an adaptation from the epic Mahabharata, at the National Theatre Hall, Dhaka Padatik staged Apod, an adaptation from Tagore’s short story having the same title, at the Experimental Theatre Hall and Universal Theatre staged Mazharul Hoque’s  play Mahatma at the Studio Theatre Hall.
Funded by the government, the eight-day festival titled ‘Theatre in Asia and Asia in Theatre’ is continuing at the three venues of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, the associate organiser of the festival.
Mahbub Leelen has adapted Arakkhita from the Acharya Sukra’s part of the Mahabharata that features the sacrifice of life of legend Sharmishtha, the princess of an unprotected nation, to vanish the spell power giving life to death from the enemy Katch, the son of Brihashpati, which he acquired using tricks from Brahmin Sukra.
Watching the play artistic director Dr Chua Soo Pong of visiting Chinese Nanning City Opera Troupe told New Age, ‘The set design and costume were appropriate. The lead artistes performed well. The conflicting and multi-layered plot of the story narrated in the first half of the play, however, had been presented in slow tempo.’
Directed by Ishrat Nishat, Desh Natok actors like Dilip Chakrabarty, Shishir, Mamun Chowdhury Ripon, Tithi Zaman and others performed in Arakkhita.
Dhaka Padatik’ production Aapod, directed by Masum Aziz, narrates different human emotions in question of trust and mistrust in diverse human life through the story of Kiron, an ailing housewife who goes to change the air at their rural Bungalow.
Masum Aziz, Sonita Nasrin, Kazi Aminur, Rudra Mohammad and others performed in the play.
Universal Theatre’s production, written and directed by Mazharul Hoque Pintu, features Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to ease the communal conflict  between Hindu and Muslim communities in Noakhali, Bangladesh in 1946. Abul Kalam Azad, Mazharul Hoque Pintu, Mahfuzur Rahman Palash and others performed in the play.