Theatre troupe Dhaka Padatik will stage a special performance of Trial of Surya Sen today, 22 September, to commemorate the death anniversary of revolutionary Pritilata Waddedar.
The event will begin at 6pm at the Dr Nilima Ibrahim Auditorium of Bangladesh Mahila Samity on Bailey Road in Dhaka. It is being organised with the support of Itihas O Oitijhya Parishad and cultural institution Tapoban.
The programme will begin with a group performance of inspirational songs by artistes from Tapoban. An exhibition of drawings by students from different Dhaka schools will also be held at the entrance to the auditorium. The artworks depict Pritilata Waddedar, the Chattogram Youth Revolt, the Jalalabad battle and the Dhalghat battle.
Photographs of revolutionaries who were martyred in those battles, along with documentary footage from different performances of Trial of Surya Sen, will also be displayed.
Following brief remarks by the guests, Dhaka Padatik will present the special performance of the play. The event will remain open to all.
Trial of Surya Sen is Dhaka Padatik’s 38th production and will reach its 47th staging with today’s performance. The play centres on the farcical trial and execution of Masterda Surya Sen, one of the leading figures of the anti-British movement.
Ekushey Padak-winning theatre personality Masum Aziz wrote and originally directed the play. After his death, acclaimed actor and director Nader Chowdhury took responsibility for its new direction, adding changes to selected sections and aspects of the stage design.
Nader Chowdhury also plays Surya Sen in the production. He said the historical play remains important for today’s generation and deserves to be seen by young audiences.
“Trial of Surya Sen is an important historical play based on the anti-British movement. Masum Aziz bhai wrote and directed it. After his death, I took on the responsibility of redirecting it, making some necessary additions to different sections. I am also playing Masterda Surya Sen. I believe the younger generation should definitely see this historical play,” Nader said.
The production features around 40 characters, including Surya Sen, Kalpana Dutta, Tarakeswar Dastidar, Pritilata Waddedar, Ambika Chakrabarty, Nirmal Sen, a British lawyer, Netra Sen and a Bengali lawyer.
Nader Chowdhury, Mahbuba Haque Kumkum, Monjurul Islam Nantu, Sabiha Zaman, Mamun Ur Rashid, Shyamal Hasan, Akhtar Hossain, Rabiul Islam Milton, Shahnaz Parvin Jaya, Tarek Ali Milon, Kazi Samrat, Atikur Rahman, Al Amin Swapan, Suman Ghosh, Nur, Khaja Hujjatullah and Zahid are among the artistes in the cast.
Zakaria Kiran is responsible for lighting, Abul Bashar Sohel for music direction and Shyamal Hasan for stage management.
The play premiered on 18 January 2018 and has since been staged several times in Bangladesh and abroad. It also had two international performances in Delhi, where it received praise from audiences and theatre critics.
