PRACHYANAT has been a major player in the group theater movement in Bangladesh for the last ten years. This theater group has spearheaded the theatrical evolution in this country with nationally acclaimed innovative theater productions such as Circus Circus, A Man for All Seasons, Koinna, etc. This year, Prachyanat has set out to launch one of the classic plays of Rabindranath Tagore –‘Raja’.

Rabindranath is the soul of Bengali literature and his plays had created a new genre of Bengali plays with poignant and poetic lyrics, music, and mercurial flow of the story – all evolving around a core theme. ‘Raja’ is no exception. The story of ‘Raja’ evolves in an imaginary country in the backdrop of a somewhat antiquated time. It portrays a utopian governance system where no one sees the king of the land but his presence is felt every sphere of life through his rule. Here the king governs without exploitation, upholds justice without discrimination, and cherishes humanity without persecution. Despite his invisibility, some remains stubbornly loyal to him and some become skeptics about the sheer existence of a king. Among the discordance of the faithless and the faithful, opportunists lurk and emerge to usurp the throne with ill motives and the love of a queen gets tangled in the mysteries of an eluding king. At the end of it all, it is the king who emerges as the strongest, wisest, and victorious. Here, the king is strong yet passionate, authoritarian yet humane, isolated yet prevailing, and unseen yet the people benefit from his prospicience. To some, the king symbolizes divinity and ‘Raja’ allegorically represents the relationship between the individual and the Supreme. The drama is a metaphor of human quest for beauty and truth.

The underlying theme of ‘Raja’ relates to the contemporary time in the sense that it contradicts the extant socio-political structures in large extent. In this age of power abuse, exploitation, and aggression at every level, the benevolence of one ‘Raja’ mirrors the exact opposite. It reminds us of the gulf of difference between ‘what is’ and ‘what should be’. As we struggle to claw our way out of a web of geopolitical victimization, ‘Raja’ helps us to define the void and provides future directives.   Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Raja’ bears strong relevance to current world politics. Prachyanat believes that theater is truly a social intersection, which constantly reexamines contemporary time, society, and surroundings. Although ‘Raja’ is a timeless and ageless masterpiece, we felt the compulsion to adopt a modernistic approach in our endeavor to present Rabindranath to the present day audience. This breaking away from the structure of classic Tagorian performance is much needed in order to represent ‘Raja’ in the current context and to make it easier on the audience’s part to relate to the essence of this stage play – ‘Raja’…ebong anyanna.

Theater itself is multidimensional. Unlike many media, here, the audience has the opportunity of a real time experience of the proceedings. The use of electronic audio-visual equipment in the design of a play is not rare in the western culture but has never been done in Bangladesh. In many respect, theater in Bangladesh remains unaffected by the fast evolution of modern day art and entertainment. The use of modern technology (e.g., projectors, TV monitors) will not only add an additional dimension to this play, but will also initiate a timely change in stage play performances in this country, as we know it. Prachyanat has previously collaborated with leading directors and theater groups in different countries. With invitation by the Japan Foundation and the Royal Danish theater, Prachyanat have already launched pilot multimedia productions in Tokyo, Japan and Copenhagen, Denmark, respectively. These productions met with huge success and critics’ approval. We intend to use a mix of electronic media, pop culture, modern music, and choreography to present ‘Raja...ebong anyanna as the first multimedia theater to the Bangladeshi audience.

Production Design Elements

Conceptual design of ‘Raja’...ebong anyanna:

Azad Abul Kalam

The never-ending illusion of capturing the ‘golden deer’ is no longer only in the minds of individuals. It has become a cumulative yearning.  It metamorphoses with time and place but nevertheless it represents one and the same thing – ultimate freedom – social, economical, political. Humanity has become the major casualty in this era of extreme decadence. Every moment we are tempted not to believe ourselves, our senses. Lack of respect for other race, religion, rights, and rites has resulted in social transgression, cultural subversion, and economic and political aggression.

The contextual relevance of ‘Raja’ in modern society has inspired and emboldened me to integrate novel dimensions to the proscenium concept of Tagorian performance. It is my understanding that this iconoclastic theatrical approach will be scrutinized with clinical lenses. But, in this digital age, use of electronics and multimedia can become a significant part in modern theater for greater acceptance and connectivity with the younger and more general audience. In addition, a ramp will be used to portray some characters as modern day individuals in the context of showbiz reality. Throughout the performance, the audience will experience live performance by actors interspersed by audio-visual clips of contemporary world events. The smooth transition between live and electronic performances will ensure a successful enactment of the play. We have gathered similar experience in working with renowned theater groups and directors in Japan and Denmark. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a new genre of theater in Bangladesh

     Space design: Md. Shaiful Islam

‘Let there be light’- God has created us from light and directed us to spread it amongst us for enlightenment. ‘Light, light, and more light; give me life infinity’; I want to drive away the darkness with celestial lights;

In love and indifference;

Everything will blend in harmony, everything has.

The obscure interplay of shadows – light and darkness- is the embellishment of Rabindranath’s masterpiece ‘Raja’, through which the present becomes more perceptible to us. Let the past be immersed in present and the present extend into the future; in this infinite journey through time, let us transform all that is erstwhile and pallid into something fresh and brilliant.

Spread light in every corner of the world; let flowers, not bullets, rain from the barrels of guns. We do not want to perceive God as the great segregator of men into classes and sects; nor do we want Him to be seated in the high altar of divinity, we want Him to come down to earth among mortals and among all earthly affairs. It is our intention to capture time with the elements of time; the enormity of our efforts will take us near fulfillment. We want to translate traditional Tagorian schooling into a timelier context and leave our footsteps for posterity; that is why we have set out on this journey of unconventionality. Our fate looms in the distant horizon. Let the puritans cling on to their thoughts while we trod newer paths piercing the darkness with immaculate marksmanship.

 

Costume design: Kazi Towfikul Islam

The country that has been portrayed in Rabindranath’s ‘Raja’ is the ‘country you will never find on the face of this earth’; the country, which exists only in our imagination but deep in our hearts we all long for it to become a reality. The question that instantaneously came to my mind is that how should the people of this country look and what attire would become them the most. The freedom of imagination with respect to clothing, color, and style has made the costume designing for this play an exciting and enjoyable one for me. Moreover, the director of this play has tried to contemporize the imaginary and real world. This unison has opened up the magical doors beyond the materialistic realms and the possibilities of something spectacular have become endless.

 

Music: Kaartik

A big noise is rising dreadfully to a crescendo……People start shouting to stop that noise….Suddenly pure and dead silence.

That was my first idea of starting any theater and it was completely vivid in my mind and in my imagination. Live music, live dance choreograph, live action…completely live composition. Day by day, whether it progressed or not, my thinking experienced time…space…spirituality….absurdity…expression….dimensions…logic…and everything else. ‘Raja’...ebong anyanna, my first full-fledged theater production, means a lot to me. Every day and every moment of it, my thinking is getting more confused, then clarity, yet again becoming more complex and so on. Philosophically and expressively, I absorb music from surrounding and from noises. Theater and music – all are inter-related in every aspect. And working in a Rabindranath Tagore’s play is really splendid. His philosophy about a state reminds us of a dream world where humanity will be the first priority.

Anything is possible in a creative world. It is just a matter of concept and application. Because theater shows us the illusive reality, so I keep thinking and applying my music to capture that. I hope my quest for uncovering this musical realty in theater will convince people’s critics.

 

Dance choreography: Snata Shahrin

Dance. Dance for dance’s sake and dance for a stage play are two completely different things to me. A dance choreographer is only concerned with the music, lyrics, and beats of a song when an isolated dance piece is composed. But if it is a piece in a dance drama, the whole story and the context need to be considered. In addition, element of acting is also integrated into the dance. Similar dance choreography is sometimes a part of stage plays; although, sometimes they are not complete dance pieces.

Music and dance goes hand in hand in Rabindranath Tagore’s plays. He put substantial emphasis on dance. Therefore, dance is a significant component of ‘Raja’...ebong anyanna. I have composed all the dance choreographs for this play following the director’s thoughts. In addition to mainstream dance forms, classical, disco, ballet, contemporary, and many other dance forms were used in ‘Raja’...ebong anyanna. I paid special attention to the individual appeals of music and lyrics of each song while composing the dances. People express their joy, sorrow, pain, and desires in different ways. Each dance in ‘Raja’...ebong anyanna is different in its expression of individual feelings and different dance forms were used for this purpose.

‘I will not win you with beauty, but love’ – this is my favorite song in ‘Raja’...ebong anyanna. This song comes right after Sudarsana, the female protagonist in the play, rejects the King for his appalling appearance. This song is, at the same time, the king’s heartfelt longing for Sudarsana and the restless cry of a soul in despair. So, the actors will dance to two different themes and beats in this piece. I have tried to do something different and new with each composition, since it is our intention to rediscover Rabindranath’s ‘Raja’ anew and through our own eyes. The reservation fees for these venues will be reimbursed from ticket sales of the shows.

The play will be performed at the Mahila Shomity auditorium, the British Council auditorium, and the Experimental Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on a regular basis. Prachyanat also participates in various theater festivals at home and abroad. Wherever it is feasible, we plan to perform ‘Raja’...ebong anyanna in all major auditoriums and halls in divisional cities of the country and in international festivals in foreign countries.

This targeted audience of this play spans over a large portion of the social spectrum ranging from lower middle class to upper middle class segments of the society. The youth in general and the civil society will comprise the audience for ‘Raja’…ebong anyanna. We would like to appeal to the finer senses of the individuals and the conscience of the society to raise awareness and concern over current world affairs. The content of the play will contribute to their knowledge base and understanding. Rabindranath is the crown jewel of Bengali literature. His immense body of work has enriched and touched people at individual levels throughout the world. ‘Raja’ …ebong anyanna breaks away from orthodox Tagorian school of performance and ventures into untracked territories. A modernistic approach in staging this play will take Rabindranath closer to general audience and will make him more accessible to the younger generation.

 

Duration                       :           Two hours

Premiere                      :           4 March 2008

Presented by                :           PRACHYANAT

                                                    Phone: Azad Abul Kalam (01715004075),

                                                    Kazi Towfikul  Islam ( 01712-078123)

                                                    Amirul Rajiv ( 01911-238982)  

                                                    Email: pra.nat@intechworld.com

**Photos by: Amirul Rajiv / Prachyanat

copyrighted by PRACHYANAT 2008