In commemoration of the 77th birth anniversary of eminent playwright Selim Al Deen, Dhaka Theatre and Bangladesh Graam Theatre commenced a three-day programme yesterday at Shilpakala Academy.
For the first day, Dhaka Theatre, one of the pioneers of the neo-theatre movement in Bangladesh, staged “Nimojjon” at 7:00pm at the National Theatre Hall of the Shilpakala Academy.
The play, written by Selim Al Deen, founding chairperson of Jahangirnagar University’s Department of Drama and Dramatics, and directed by Nasiruddin Yousuff, explores the history of genocide and humanity’s recurring cycles of violence.
From Hitler’s concentration camps and the nuclear devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the Rwandan genocide, the war in Bosnia and the 1971 genocide in Bangladesh, the play depicts how those in power have repeatedly exploited the vulnerable and slaughtered millions of innocent people. It opened with a few words from the director.
Established in 1973, Dhaka Theatre was founded by young freedom fighters, including filmmaker Nasiruddin Yousuff and theatre practitioner Selim Al Deen.