Eventful festival

To mark 36 years of Loko Natyadal, the theatre troupe will arrange a four -day festival where eight plays directed by Liaquat Ali Lucky will be staged. The event will also include an opening ceremony, discussions and a seminar featuring eminent theatre critic Ashish Goswami.

To outline this initiative, a press meet was held on Monday at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy's seminar hall. Loko Natyadal founder Liaquat Ali Lucky presided over the event. Other members present included Krishti Hefaz, Yasmin Alik, Swadesh Dasgupta, Ziauddin Shipon, Rubel Shankar, Dr. Mahfuza Hilali, Masud Sumon, Azizur Rahman Shujon and other members of the troupe.

Curtains on the festival's opening ceremony will be raised today at 6.30pm at Shilpakala Academy's National Theatre Hall. Additional Secretary of Ministry of Public Administration Mohammad Ibrahim Hossain Khan will grace the occasion as chief guest, while Director General of BSA and the troupe founder Liaquat Ali Lucky will preside over the event.

Two plays will be staged on the opening day; Shukumar Rai's “Obaak Jolpaan” and Tariq Anam Khan's adaptation “Konjus”. On the next day, Loko Natyadal will perform an adaptation of Gao Xingjian's play, titled “Maajhrater Manushera”. On July 7, three productions will be staged from 4pm, titled “Mujib Maney Mukti”, “Daakghar” and “Rathjatra”. At 7pm “Shonai Madhob” will be staged at the Experimental Theatre Hall. On July 8, the event will conclude with a seminar titled “Loko Natyadal Kormomukhor Teenjuug” and a staging of Nasrin Mustafa's “Leelaboti Akhyan”.

Loko Natyadal was founded on July 6 1981, with a special aim to engage the youth in their activities.