Theatre

An enticing evening at IUB Theatre

Miftahul Jannat Chowdhury

“As hosts of this show we did not expect such response and people kept flocking in. This is a big achievement for all of us”

Who knew that Haradhan could be so real, or Ratanmala so adorable? On the evening of October 21, hundreds of people enjoyed the drama 'Jaysa-Ka-Taysa' written by Girish Chandra Ghosh during the UCB Annual Cultural Programme of IUB Theatre on the Public Library premises in Shahbag. The show also offered the drama 'Neelima'r Din-Ratri' written and directed by Al-Amin Firoz, music and dance performances, fashion show sponsored by Shekele, poetry recitation, and the main attraction 'Jaysa-Ka-Taysa' directed by Reza Shahriar.

IUB Theatre started its journey in 2006 by staging William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'. Since then, they have been presenting us with at least a single theatrical performance every year. That is how the IUB Theatre has arranged the “UCB Annual Cultural Programme 2010”. The show was sponsored by United Commercial Bank.

Nearly 400 people attended a lovely evening to watch the cultural programme by IUB Theatre, and most of them were students from other universities along with their friends, families, and relatives. “As hosts of this show we did not expect such response and people kept flocking in. This is a big achievement for all of us”, said Dr. G M Shahidul Alam, Head of the Department of Media and Communication, Independent University, Bangladesh. He also claimed that this gives away the amount of interest today's youth has in culture. The Director of the School of Business IUB, Dr. Nadim Jahangir, was also present there.

The programme started an hour later than the announced time due to technical difficulties, and yet the awaiting audience showed little sign of impatience. The show started with a brief award giving ceremony to honour the promising members of IUB Theatre, including Asif A Maruf who received the Best Performance Award, and Nayeem Sadat being the new face of 2010.After the award giving ceremony, the audience was absorbed by the voice of Kheya who sang Hason Raja's legendary song 'Baula Ke Banailo Re' and another patriotic song 'Amay Jodi Proshno Kore'. But that was just the beginning of a memorable evening. One by one, the performers got up on stage and captured the audience's mind with their songs, dance performances, poetry recitation, and drama. All the senior audiences became nostalgic when a group of dancers performed by focusing on the traditional games of Bangladesh, playing Ha Du Du, Kanamachi Bho Bho, and other games while the song 'Purano Shei Din Er Kotha' was being played in the background. The main attraction of this cultural programme was the drama 'Jaysa-Ka-Taysa', played by Omar Sayem Ismail, Tanzia Farzin, Tanzima Hasan, Tanvir Ahmed Raja, Al-Amin Firoz, and others. During this drama the audience was delighted by the performances, acting skills, and the quality of the choreography. Ohid and his friends had given little thought to the audience, only to be surprised by the turnout at the Public Library premises. “I have come to enjoy an evening with my friends and watch the cultural programme by my fellow IUBians. We are thrilled to be here, and also to see so much people who could actually make it”, said Ohid, a student of IUB. Isha, Delowar, and Bappy, students of the Department of Media and Communication, IUB were also having a good time too by watching the show with their friends and teachers. A lecturer of Green University, Ms. Khurshida Leen was present among the audience. “This sort of cultural shows are very important for young students. I am very glad to be here, it's an inspiration for every other universities out there”, said Ms. Leen.The IUB Theatre has been successful in their programme, and we hope to see more of their work in the future.

(The writer is a student of the Media & Communications, Independent University Bangladesh)