Prangonemor's Bangladesh Theatre Fest opens in Kolkata

Bangladeshi theatre troupe Prangonemor's six-day theatre festival opened in Kolkata, India on Friday evening at the Satyajit Roy Auditorium of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). The festival will continue till November 8 and will stage a play by Prangonemor every day at 7pm. Nandipath is the organiser of the festival.

 Indian thespian Bibhas Chakraborty, actor-playwright Arpita Ghosh, Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (Kolkata) director Goutam Dey, Bangladesh Shilkapala Academy DG Liaquat Ali Lucky and First Secretary of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, Mofakkharul Islam attended the inaugural event.

Prangonemor staged their play "Ami O Rabindranath" on the opening day of the festival. The other plays by the troupe to be performed are: "Irsha", "Shesher Kobita", "Shyama Prem", "Bibadi Sargam", "Aurangzeb" and "Condemned Cell".

Lined up for today are a special seminar at 11am, and two plays at 3pm and 7pm.

Prangonemor will also honour seven theatre aficionados and thespians at the festival: Amalesh Dasgupta, Selim Ur Rahman, Manatosh Kumar Saha, Soumitra Mitra, Samar Mitra, Goutam Haldar and Anjan Kanjilal.

The troupe's director Ananta Hira said: "We believe that such cultural exchange can enrich theatre both in Bangladesh and West Bengal. To strengthen that exchange Prangonemor organises an annual theatre festival in Dhaka where five troupes from West Bengal will participate. This is just to bring the audiences closer to the theatre troupes and their plays."