While the young generation of the country is repeatedly protesting against religious bigotry and calling for the trial of the war criminals of the Liberation War in 1971, Theatre’s (Bailey Road) Payer Awaj Pawa Jay creates the same resonance in an artistic way.
The play, which is strongly vocal against religious fanaticism, had its debut in 1976. It earned much acclaim at home and abroad over the years. After a pause of ten years, Theatre decided to resurrect the play, since several political and religious circles have recently been trying to save the criminals being tried for war crimes.
Syed Shamsul Haq’s magnum opus on 1971, Payer Awaj Pawa Jay was previously directed by late theatre icon Abdullah Al-Mamun. Young theatre activist Sudip Chakroborthy has redesigned and redirected the play, which was staged on Wednesday evening at Experimental Theatre Hall of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the capital.
The reproduced play seemed to add fresh touches to light designing, set and also to script, but kept the storyline intact.
Sudip Chakroborthy said “I tried my level best to reproduce the thrilling play once again. We followed Abdullah Al Mamun’s directorial lines and views for the new version, but we focused on the adaptation of the actors with the very new set and stage lights.”
The one and a quarter hour long play delves into the tragic story of a rural woman during the Liberation War, whose father is the chief of the village. He bestows shelter to the Pakistani Army for the sake of religion and patriotism, in his point of view. The play appropriately articulates the ignorance, superstitions and misuse of religion prevailed upon in rural society. Apart from sketching the victory of Bangladesh, the play also urges the need to be free from superstition, domination and discrimination to build a secular society.
Veteran actress Ferdausi Majumdar used to play the protagonist in Mamun’s Payer Awaj Pawa Jay; in this version, Tropa Majumder enacts that role. Ferdousi did the costume design for the play, apart from acting in a significant role, and did a tremendous job as a member of the chorus.
Ferdousi Majumdar, Keramat Maola, Paresh Acharya, Tropa Majumdar, Khurshid Alam, Maruf Kabir, Tofa Hossain and Atikur Rahman donned the important roles in the play.
The play is country’s first production which got chance to celebrate its fiftieth staging and the play is staged more than one hundred fifteen times till today. The play also staged outside of the country in India and South Korea.
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