Our Production
Buro Shalik Not Out
play - Satyajit Karmakar
Direction - Debasish Dutta
Buro Shalik Not Out is deconstructed and inspired from Michael Madhusudan Dutta's classic Buro Shaliker Ghare Ro, it is a play within a play. Here we get to see a theatre group preparing to stage Madhusudan's classic where the story is about an aged landlord who not only exploit it's subjects but also shows illicit sexual interests in young ladies less than half of his age. Parallely we get introduced with the director of that theatre group who like the protagonist from his play bears uncanny resemblance in morality, lecherousness and character. Both their story overlap with each other into climax connecting two eras thereby pointing out that previously as well as still now women are treated as sex objects exposed to oppression and exploitation as an outcome of male chauvinism. This play is a comical discourse of a serious issue which becomes slapstick and musical in it's form of appearance.
RITUSAMHAR
Play - Kalidassa
Direction - Debasish Dutta
Light - Prosenjit Bhattaxharya
Based on Kalidasa’s Ritusamharam, this play is a description of the Indian cycle of seasons, portraying the close interaction of life and nature. Kalidasa writes about the six seasons- Grishma, Varsha, Sharad ,Hemanta ,Shishir, Vasanta - in graphic detail. He narrates in impeccable manner the impact of the seasons not only on the human psyche, but also on insects, flora and fauna. His poetic images are insightful, graphic and powerful.
A narrative poem by birth, Ritusamharam is not a play in the conventional sense. Kalidasa describes six seasons in as many episodes and they are being presented here in visual interpretation .Each episode is complete in itself. There is no tangible story line and there is no effort to create one.
The performances try to underline the fact that all human energy is derived from nature. Now that man is isolating himself and moving away from nature.
It is a simple expression, through his own vocabulary, of director who lives in the contemporary world. It is that simple.
Fourth Bell
Play - Bratya Basu
Direction - Debasish Dutta
Light - Soumen Chakraborty
Music - Deshari Chakraborty
Aparup and Bidisha - an upper middleclass couple, they both are ardent Theatre lovers. They regularly buy tickets to see plays and are very proud of their act of doing it so. It was all going fine until one evening when a show was canceled midway - five minutes post the interval. They were literally captured inside the auditorium and doors were shut from the outside. Before they could figure out anything they were confronted by the light man, the play writer and finally the director of that show. By forcefully making them drink wine at the tragic end of gun point the couple were made to give tests to prove their theatre loyalty. And thus we could see a successful implementation of Antonin Artaud’s ‘Theatre of cruelty’.
Within a small span of time Aparup and Bidisha were exposed. Appearing to be a sincere Theatre admirer a series of thrilling and satirical events unveils their real image. They stood out to be the representatives of that large section of audience who perceives the medium as a source of petty entertainment. The play writer and the director do not spare them at all on the contrary they instigate a feeling of suspicion in the mind of Bidisha towards Aparup. At last -
The play doesn’t end rather it raises some pertinent questions on superficial belongingness with the Theatre medium. IFTA’s production - ‘4th Bell’ is written by Bratya Basu and directed by Debasis Dutta.