There had been a time when every winter would bring to the city a wide range of theatre from across the globe and the foreign embassies would work overtime to present those productions before the city-bred aficionados. It is all over now. As a result of the ongoing impasse in Bangladesh, even the last option is gone and we do not seem to have any festival which merits the ‘international’ tag. Baghajatin Alaap’s Kolkata International Bengali Theatre Festival 2025 addressed this vacuum in an intelligent way. Held at the Academy of Fine Arts over three days, this curiously named festival — it aimed at showcasing the “bright potential of Bengali theatre on the global stage, which has been nurtured for a long time” — presented three Bengali groups from three continents as well as two local outfits.
Among them, the New Jersey-based Epic Actors’ Workshop tours the city regularly. It presented its latest, Nirostro, directed by Gholam Sarwar Haroon and Gargi Mukherjee. Inspired by Mahasweta Devi’s short story, Draupadi, the production focussed on the resistance of the tribals against State atrocities at a time when the Naxalite uprising was redefining the political ecosystem. The inclusion of Dubai-based Emirates Bengal Natyagosthi and Sydney-based Kathok Theatre made Baghajatin Alaap’s festival extremely exciting. The former presented Anantam, directed by Kalyan Bhattacharya. This reviewer made it a point to watch Kathok’s Laila directed by Tito Ray and returned home rewarded.
Loosely based on Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1996), Laila (picture) works adroitly on Tirthankar Chanda’s adaptation of the same, Jalchhabi, that Rangroop produced successfully in 2008. The tragic story of a middle-aged spinster, born in a ramshackle aristocratic household in mofussil Bengal, is woven through accidents and coincidences. Ray develops the drama skilfully and keeps the mother-daughter relationship in a fine balance without giving away the plot. “Laila o Laila” from the Hindi film, Qurbani, forms the leitmotif, and the lead cast acts credibly to keep the audience riveted.
