REVIEW - THEATRE

Debasish Gooptu

Congratulations to Subham Sanyal and his troupe for the splendid performance of the play "Ekti Abastob Galpo" (A Surreal Story)! The BAGC had officially sponsored their participation at the Banga Mela in St. Louis this summer, where the play received rave reviews. However, as many members of the Bengali community in Chicago had not been able to attend the Mela, the troupe staged a private showing on August 24 at Cutting Hall in Palatine.

The play was a thought-provoking exploration of the validity of the judicial system and capital punishment. Though the play at first hand the auditorium echoing with peals of laughter, it suddenly turned grim and then ended in a note of poignancy that left the audience mute for a while.

The production achieved a very high level of professionalism in all aspects - presentation, stage décor, background sound and general coordination. Playing to a packed auditorium, the entire cast displayed great thespian skills, especially notable amongst which were powerful performances by Jasendu Sekhar Chakraborty, as the jailer, and Subham Sanyal, as Ka Mandal, delightful cameo roles by Soumya Bhattacharya, as constable Ram Singh, and Asim Gangopadhyay, as Ahin, and a tour de force performance by Kalyan Maitra as the priest, Bachaspati.

SAMAJ SAMBAD, Volume 26 - Issue 4, September 2001