Jatrik Productions has satirised the wealthy elites and upper class in its new play titled 鈥楾he Begum鈥檚 Blunder鈥�, an adaptation of Oscar Wilde鈥檚 comedy 鈥楲ady Windermere鈥檚 Fan鈥�, staged at the Nilima Ibrahim Auditorium of Bangladesh Mahila Samity in Dhaka on Monday.
The fourth theatre production of Jatrik has been adapted, designed and directed by Naila Azad.
鈥楾he play not only satirises notions and views of the upper class of the past but also wealthy elites and influential people of contemporary society,鈥� said Naila Azad, who attempted to tell a story to force the audience to see the world as it is (or was), thus allowing them to make their own judgment in 鈥楾he Begum鈥檚 Blunder鈥�.聽聽
The play is set in 1920s Bengal. India was a colony of the UK and the British Empire deeply influenced the culture and lifestyle of the upper class.
The audience gets a glimpse into the upper class as well as their expensive lifestyle, and total disregard for social norms and others.
The play revolves around Begum Mumtaz Nizamuddin who believes her husband Nawab Nizamuddin has been keeping a mistress when a mysterious woman attends a party. The two-hour play is staged in English.
鈥楨nglish is gradually gaining a foothold in our everyday life. Our ancestors lived under British rule and pursued higher education in English. Before and after the War of Liberation, a large number of people went abroad to pursue education and returned. The number of students at English medium schools is gradually increasing and people of our country have been listening to English content on the internet,鈥� said Naila Azad, who added,聽聽聽聽 鈥榃e want to reach youths with this play and I hope that many theatre troupes will follow in our footsteps.鈥�
鈥極scar Wilde is one of my favourite authors. I am fond of 鈥淟ady Windermere鈥檚 Fan鈥� but I never feel comfortable staging foreign plays wearing white makeup. So, I depicted the era when the people of Bengal used to talk in English. In colonial Bengal, the nawabs and zemindars were influenced by British culture and lifestyle. I hope that the audience will enjoy the play,鈥� she added.
Baizid Haque Joarder, Samreen Islam, Warda Ashraf, Auyon Islam Ace, Dahlia Ahmed, Ibtesam Doha Sami, Akhlaq Siddiqi, Diti Roy, Sadman Sayid, Kingbadantee Sabir, SB Meraz, Dhrubani Mahbub, Danny Amin, Nafiz Ahsan Arpon, Naushad Ali Hussein, Naymisha Chowdhury, Shamonti Adrita and Pujan Roy portrayed different characters in the play.
鈥楾he Begum鈥檚 Blunder鈥� will be staged at the same venue till June 27 and on July 1, 2 and 6.
