Spardha: Independent Theatre Collective is taking its production Tobuo Jege Uthi outside Dhaka for the first time, with performances scheduled in Chattogram, Sylhet and Rajshahi this month and in September.
Directed by Mohsina Akter, the play will be staged at Theatre Institute Chattogram on 19 August, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet on 28 August and Rajshahi District Shilpakala Academy on 4 September. Each performance will begin at 7pm.
Before the tour, Tobuo Jege Uthi will have three shows at the Studio Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka. The performances are scheduled for 5:30pm and 7:30pm on 15 August and 7:30pm on 16 August.
First staged in 2024, the production explores women’s everyday experiences within systems shaped by gender, identity, power and patriarchy. It questions the roles, expectations and forms of control imposed by society while following one person’s struggle to reclaim her identity and sense of self.
The play emerged in the aftermath of Bangladesh’s 2024 mass uprising and reflects on the political and social questions that followed. According to Akter, the production grew from questions about the place of women and people with marginalised gender identities in the hopes for change and equality that brought people to the streets.
However, the play is not simply about disillusionment. It also explores breaking silence, confronting difficult questions and finding the strength to rise again after adversity.
The title draws inspiration from American poet Maya Angelou’s celebrated poem Still I Rise. Akter said the poem also influenced the production’s exploration of resilience and women’s struggle for selfhood.
Spardha began its journey in 2018 and has built a body of work addressing social and political realities. Its productions include Jibon O Rajnoitik Bastobota, 4.48 Mantras, Bismoykor Shobkichu and Ami Birangona Bolchi.
