Theatre group BotTala will mark its 18th anniversary with a three-day celebration featuring plays, discussions, seminars, reading sessions, music, puppet shows and workshops. The programme will run from 28 to 30 August at venues across Dhaka.
The celebrations will open on 28 August at 5pm with BotTala’s reading circle, “Boshir Alhelal Shoronanjali”, at the Bishwo Shahitto Kendro auditorium. The session will explore novelist Boshir Alhelal’s Kalo Ilish and other writings through discussions, readings, recollections and music. The event is free and open to all.
On 29 August, BotTala will host a children’s theatre festival at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in memory of artist Mustafa Monwar. The day will begin at 9am with a cartoon workshop led by Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy, alongside “Matir Pathshala”, where Khokon Karigor will teach children pottery-making with clay.
At 11am, BotTala-e Performance Space will stage Dakat Halum Chitpotang. Children can also join the acting workshop “Ovinoy Hathekhori”, while Inventors Puppet will present Jonmodin Bibhrat. At 4pm, Kaktarua Puppet Theatre and BotTala will hold a puppet workshop. Dhaka Little Opera will stage Anarosher Dhaka Sofor at 5pm, followed by Together We Can’s musical performance Dhoronir Gaan at 7pm.
The final day will feature a storytelling session by Gronthik at 5pm and Universal Puppet’s Sabuj Desher Bipod at 6:30pm. BotTala-e Performance Space will also stage Dakat Halum Chitpotang and Banyatherium. The celebration will conclude with the Nasiruddin Nadim Smriti BotTala Theatre Worker Award 2026.
BotTala began its theatre journey on 27 August 2008. Over 18 years, it has staged nearly a dozen productions, including socially conscious and protest-oriented plays, across Bangladesh and abroad, as well as in open spaces, fields and streets.
The group also runs Actors Studio, an acting school for aspiring performers. Its acclaimed productions include Crutch’er Colonel, Sokhi Rongomala, Khona, Rise and Shine and Marx in Soho.
