Theatre in West Bengal is full of pleasant surprises. Buniadpur, a sleepy municipality in South Dinajpur district, used to be a hotbed of indigenous performing traditions like jatra and khawn until 4G telecommunications arrived and transformed the concept of mass entertainment. A handful of cultural organisations are trying to stem the rot. Buniadpur Sahachali Natya Academy, which surprised us with an original adaptation of Charandas Chor last year, organised a three-day theatre festival at the newly-constructed Sukanta Bhaban located at the heart of the town. This time, the focus was on regular proscenium productions of shorter durations.
Barasat Anushilani opened the festival with Dharmanagar, an attempt to dissect the nexus between politicians and mediapersons. The way investigative journalism has been cornered in contemporary India got a wholesome treatment in this Sekhar Samaddar play. This truncated version of the original had a scintillating transformative act by Murari Mukhopadhyay, ably assisted by Piali Basu Chatterjee and Bijoy Mukhopadhyay. This theme was reinforced in Siliguri Ingit’s Saudagar, which explored larger political issues. Both productions showcased precision in traditional dramaturgy.
The hosts attempted Pratidwandwi (picture), a suspense thriller with envy as the driving force and scientific research thrown in for good measure. Jointly scripted by Antara Chatterjee and Bratajit Saha, the production succeeded in exploring the underbelly of research and the State-corporate nexus that fuels it. Arresting stagecraft and measured acting by the lead players — Saha and Rajibkarno Mahato — kept the audience interested. Amit Tarafder impressed as a double agent and Debasree Karmakar’s cameo as a reporter showed promise. However, the finesse and the precision required for sustaining the production were missing. Sahachali would fare much better if it continued experimenting with the traditional forms and source ideas from local history and legends. The mounds of Bangarh, situated an hour’s distance from Buniadpur, are teeming with stories that connect the Mahabharata tradition with Dinajpur’s past. Exploring such stuff may reap rich dividends. The festival also featured Nihata Shatabdi (Raiganj Vivekananda Natya Chakra), Chand Manasa Katha (Malda Malancha) and Gobra Paliyechhe (Bishan Gajole). With their intentions clear, Sahachali is poised for bigger collaborations.
