Rangakarmee members rehearse for Sri Ganesh Mahima. Picture by Aranya Sen

For a different theatre experience, Rangakarmee, led by Usha Ganguli, has embarked on a series of productions to be steered by young Bengali stage directors. The project kicked off with Sri Ganesh Mahima at Academy of Fine Arts on March 29.

Sri Ganesh Mahima, based on a Mahasveta Devi story, was directed by Rabindra Bharati University and National School of Drama alumnus Partha Banerjee.

Next in line are productions by Koushik Sen, Goutam Haldar and Prabir Guha, though the plays are yet to be finalised.

“Rangakarmee has always been keen to experiment and these are directors who have been part of our workshops and seminars earlier. They use very new and experimental methods and we feel that an extended interaction with them would prove fruitful. Every member of our troupe will participate in this exercise. I think this kind of a collaboration is necessary between Bengali and Hindi theatre workers,” said Ganguli, the group’s founder-director.

Sri Ganesh Mahima was written by Kaushik Chattopadhyay and translated into Hindi by Rangakarmee. The play is set in the Bihar belt. “It deals with the patriarchal society, the abuse of women and the sacrifices they are forced to make,” said director Partha, who has used a lot of physical movements and dance to convey the message.