A French-Bangladeshi puppet theatre production will bring the supernatural into everyday Dhaka with two free performances at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on 6 and 7 November.
Titled Invisible Stories, the body puppet theatre show features live music and is presented by Alliance Française de Dhaka, Compagnie Graine de Vie and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Both performances will begin at 6pm at the Academy’s Experimental Theatre Hall in Segunbagicha. Admission is free, with entry on a first-come, first-served basis.
Created and directed by French puppeteer Laurie Cannac, the production draws on Bangladesh’s oral tradition of ghost stories. It follows two scientists investigating how ghosts influence everyday life in Dhaka. Their journey takes them towards the Sundarbans, where the boundary between the human and supernatural worlds begins to blur.
The production reimagines Dhaka as a surreal metropolis, offering supernatural explanations for familiar urban realities, including traffic and rapid city changes.
The 6 November performance will be in English and Bangla, while the 7 November show will be in French and Bangla.
Cannac developed the production after being moved by the resilience, humour, optimism and wisdom of the Bangladeshi artists and communities she encountered. Those experiences inspired her to explore the country’s stories and perspectives through puppet theatre.
