 Centre
for Asian Theatre (CAT) was the first, and is still the only, professional theatre
organisation in Bangladesh. CAT was established in 1994. The activities are partly funded
through donor support and partly through incomes from advertisements, registration fees
for participation in workshops and seminars, and from selling of tickets and publications.
It is an overall aim of CAT to develop CAT into a
full-fledged professional theatre organisation and to promote professionalism in the
Bangladesh theatre arena at large. This is a long-term and multifaceted task in a country
where there is no institutional theatre, theatre education is theoretical rather than
practical, and the many existing theatre groups are amateur groups run on a part-time
basis. It requires a focus on theoretical aspects of theatre as well as on theatre
practice, and it means creation of theatre productions as well as training. The objectives
of CAT and the related activities undertaken should be understood at this background. The
main objectives of CAT are:
- to run a professional theatre (CAT Repertory Theatre)
- to promote professionalism in theatre through
workshops and seminars
- to undertake research, documentation and publication
on theatre and related fields
- · to increase awareness among children on social
issues (Theatre for children programme)
CAT Repertory Theatre was established in 1996. The
concept of repertory theatre is new in Bangladesh, and the staging of plays throughout the
country means that people in the small towns have got an opportunity to see good theatre.
The emphasis on professionalism implies that the directors and designers have received
theatre education and have a professional background, and that the performers have formal
theatre education or have been extensively trained by CAT. It also implies that they work
on a full-time basis and therefore are able to concentrate in full on making use of and
developing their skills. CAT Repertory stages western and modern Bengali plays but has
increasingly focused also on traditional theatrical forms, folk forms as well as classical
Sanskrit theatre. The focus on traditional folk forms in motivated out of an aim to revive
forms that are an important part of our cultural tradition.
CAT believes that much can be gained from
cross-cultural contact in the field of theatre and by creating encounters between East and
West. It is also our view that theatre research is essential for bringing theatre practice
ahead. CAT's approach to theatre is therefore experimental, with blending of modern and
traditional forms, techniques and devices. The aim is to leave the conventional approach
to theatre behind and to create a living theatre of high artistic quality. In the age of
satellite television, theatre is facing the tremendous challenge of being able to
communicate with the audience and of developing something new that has the potential of
evoking the interest of the common audience. For this reason, western plays are also
adapted to suit socio-political conditions and cultural conceptions and values.
The aim of strengthening CAT as a professional
theatre organisation and of promoting professionalism in the Bangladesh theatre arena at
large means, among other things, that the competence of the existing professionals have to
be strengthened and made up-to-date with what is going on in other countries. And in
fields where there is no or only limited professional competence available in Bangladesh,
such competence has to be built up. It is therefore a task of high priority for CAT to
organise workshops and seminars on various aspects of theatre and on theatre related
subjects, often with participation of foreign experts in the relevant fields. CAT has so
far organised two events with extensive participation of foreign experts, notably the
International Ibsen seminar and Workshops on Gender issues in Ibsen's Plays in 1997
and Natyotsav, a Classical Sanskrit Theatre Symposium and Festival in 1999. CAT has
also organised smaller seminars with foreign experts as keynote speakers, including the
seminar Encounter between East and West in 1998. CAT has also organised several workshops
on various aspects of theatre practice.
The first production of CAT Repertory Theatre was Krishnabibar,
an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, which was directed by Kamaluddin Nilu. The
other productions include: Bunohans, an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Wild Duck, directed
by the Indian theatre and film director MK Raina; Bhelua Sundari, a ballad from the middle
ages transformed into a stage play based on the traditional theatrical form palagan. The
young theatre director SR Lipon under supervision of Kamaluddin Nilu directed the play.
The Sanskrit play Vikramorvasiya was directed by Kamaluddin Nilu, and Rabindranath
Tagore's play Raja (The King of the Dark Chamber) by Naila Azad. Kamaluddin Nilu
directed Peer Chan, an adaptation Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt. CAT has so far
participated with two of the plays, Bhelua Sundari and Raja, in international theatre
festivals in India and Sweden.
Putuler Itikatha, a translation of Henrik
Ibsen's A Doll's House, is CAT's latest production. I would like to express my
thanks to all those who have been involved in the production and to the members of the
Executive Board of CAT and to the CAT officials.
Kamaluddin Nilu |
