Produced by Uttarpara Bratyajon, Hattamelar Oparey is a refreshing take by the director, Krishnendu Dewanji, on Badal Sircar’s drama that has remained categorised as a children’s play. Even though Dewanji uses young actors, children even, in his ensemble, he consciously underplays the fable-like charm of the play (which, of course, appeals readily to children) to foreground serious politics which forms the thematic spine of the text. For a drama that advocates eschewing private property and capitalist greed, Dewanji successfully deploys the elements of Jerzy Grotowski’s ‘poor theatre’. In this version of Hattamelar Oparey, we have political theatre, both in theme and form. The emphasis is on extracting maximum effect using minimum resources, relying predominantly on the bodies of actors to generate for the audience a ‘rich’ experience. At a time when much of contemporary Bengali theatre seems mired in the treacherous bog of lavish design that necessitates irrecoverable expenditure, this production stands in stark contrast, indicating a path of sustainable theatre practice. Dewanji and his team deserve to be lauded for keeping faith in the bare basics — which is to say that theatre only requires actors to tell stories through their bodies. All this implies that of the slew of productions that we witnessed throughout the course of last year, which marked Badal Sircar’s birth centenary, Hattamelar Oparey certainly ranks highly among the most distinguished tributes to the playwright.

The on-stage success of Hattamelar Oparey is entirely predicated upon the rock-solid performances of the actors who have trained long and hard. The group is disciplined, which is evident in the smooth teamwork that it brings on stage. It is heartening to watch young actors having internalised the importance of staying in character during transitions and then switching effortlessly into different personas when required. The live music, heightened by sound effects produced by the playing of random objects, nourishes the thematic core. However, the information and statistics presented at the beginning of the play, highlighting statist abuse of national resources, require proper citation.