Arranyak

About the Theater

The presence of festivities in Bangladesh is all embracing and as old as time. The history of drama and its performance is very old. Before Independence, during the administration of many regimes. It has traversed paths of glory. Although it was never smooth and had to face many adverse circumstances. Our dedicated performers and all who are connected with performing arts, have shouldered the great responsibility of taking this type of arts with the application of modern tecnics in the field of patronization, staging, with a to reaching the common people, in the post-independence period. In short, it may very well be said that drama is the outcome of our tradition and our drama is our pride. Without the existence of any stage worth its name in Bangladesh dramatists have, during the last 25 years, produced and staged many dramas of high quality. The news of our achievements in drama has reached world, crossing the boundaries of Bangladesh.

The member of drama groups in Bangladesh, which are included in the list of group theater federation, is about 145 at present. Although the stage performance of drama in Bangladesh started in the sixties, the history of such performance in exchange of payments is only about 25/26 years old. That means, this type of performers art started on regular basic only after the war of Independence in 1971.

Today everybody can recall the role played by the students of the University of Dhaka during the mid-sixties in the movement against political and economic deprivation prevalent in the then east Pakistan. Do to the tremendous political surge of those days when the activities in the cultural field was at a stage of utter neglect, the teachers-students center came into being, almost unnoticed. Basically this center was created with the purpose of a shake-up in the cultural life of the Dhaka University. Under the auspices of this ”Theater student center”, A drama was staged with the active help and co-operation of drama personalities like Abdullah-al; Mamun, Ramendru majumder and others. The drama was titled “kritadasher Hashi”(A stave’s laugh) written by the famous literature and educationist “showkat Osman”. The script was given the shape of a drama by Ramendu majumder. Possibly this is the first and the last drama production of that center till today.

• Dhaka Theater
• Nagarik
• Arranyak
• Nadonik
• Dhaka Padatik
• Nadanik

These groups have attained prominence by the untried zeal and effects of the famous drama personalities like Abdullh-Al-Manun, Ramendu Majumder, Mamunur Rashid, Nasiruddin yousshouf, Humayun Faridi, Fardousi Majumder, Suborna Mustafa and others.

The drama in Bangladesh is mostly Dhaka curtained and opportunities in Dhaka are also quite considerable, but work going on in places outside Dhaka. Unfortunately they do not get that much publicity and the newspaper & magazines also do not show much interest in this regard.  As a result, regional specialties, which are integral parts of theater, do not get opportunities to flourish.

Although the age of our performers art in the time of theater is about 25/27 years, no stage has yet been constructed which is exclusively meant for this type of performers art. Generally dramas are staged in different auditoriums or halls in the city where no arrangement of light & sound systems are available. Naturally therefore, a good amount of money is required to be spent for these facilities. In specially, most of the time dramas are staged in the “Guide House stage” and”Mohila Shomity Stage”. There were the salient features of problem in staging dramas up to this time.

In consideration of the persistent t demands of the theater workers and drama directors, of Dhaka City Corporation has recently constructed an modern theater hall named “ Dhaka Mohanagor natya mancha”, where modern facilities and equipment have been included. Though this venture is very inadequate in new of the demand for dramas, we would expect that such facilities would be available in many places outside Dhaka city and the regional theaters, instead of being only Dhaka untied shall spread throughout the country. This will help in precarious the regional characteristics, So long there has never been any scarcity of drama workers to promote has theatrical activities that has always been the scarcity of patronization.