Mamunur Rashid’s new play ‘Company’ to mesmerise audience on Eid

Celebrated thespian, director, and theatre personality Mamunur Rashid has been a noted figure in the theatre arena of the country with his thoughtful and innovative theatre installations over the years. 

For over five decades, he alongside his theatre troupe Aranyak Natyadal has been mesmerising audiences with timely plays, including "Rarang", "Sankranti", "Ora Kadam Ali", "Jay Jayanti" and many more.

The Ekushey Padak-winning thespian Mamunur Rashid is now bringing a new play, titled "Company" for the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr. The play is centred around a timeline of 1744-1757 when British imperialism began to spread around the globe, especially the Indian subcontinent, to consciously rule them.

Regarding the play,  Mamunur Rashid said, "Aranyak always produces plays on a large scale and with an extensive number of thespians taking part in each of our productions. This play will be no different. In 'Company', we tried to portray the subtle clasps of power practices, diplomatic domination, and oppression of the ruling class (ranging from the British era to this day)."

The play will begin with a premise of 1744 England's Yorkshire County and end in June 1757. 

"We will showcase the spread of British imperialism and their arrival in the Indian subcontinent through this dramatic play. The conflict between Lord Clive and Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah and its consequences led to the loss of Bengal's independence. I have depicted the conspiracies and upheavals of that time and attempted to capture the socio-political situation and the psychological landscape of the North Indian colonial rule in this drama," said the veteran thespian.

This is the 66th production of Aranyak Natyadal. In this regard, Mamunur Rashid said, "I try to pen a new play on each of my birthdays. I wrote this one on my birthday this year. We then planned to entertain the audiences on Eid this year with this play."

The play will premiere at 7:00pm on Eid day at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy's National Theatre Hall and run for four more days at the same time and venue.