RECENT PRODUCTIONS ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE

RECENT PRODUCTIONS ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE

Of the recent happenings on the Calcutta stage a number of productions are worth discussing. Of these, in order of chronology comes Ballygunge Bratyajon’s ARDHANGINI, Ballygunge Swapnasuchona’s BELASHESE KOLAHAL, Howrah Bratyajon’s JAYOMAAN and Barasat Anushiloni’s CHHAYABRIKSHA. 

Ballygunge Bratyajon is a new team that together with three more groups have the brand name of Bratyajon and of course, the blessings of Bratya Basu. Their first production ARDHANGINI is an adaptation of Somerset Maughm’s The Constant Wife. The adaptation by Utpal Jha had also been staged with modifications by Meghnad Bhattacharya by a Bangaluru group sometimes in 2011. However, the present production scores its marks because of the very good standard of production on the whole as well as for perfectly bringing out the subtle nuances of the comedy of manners. Bijoy Mukherjee who has done his directorial debut in this play is an established producer of theatre with the professional touch that is not frequently found in the theatre world of this part of our country. His production of Kanyadaan under the banner of Swapnasuchona, with Bratya Basu directing the play apart from doing the bully’s role has remained a mile-stone in this world. Bijoy has proved himself in this new role though attention to details is wanting. Each member acted in their respective roles with perfect timing and almost faultless coordination. The production was able to convey the message that Maugham had given many many years before the movement for economic emancipation of the women folks had taken shape.

Bijoy Mukherjee’s Swapnasuchona, the team mentioned earlier is more a production company rather than a theatre-group. Rechristened as Ballygunge Swapnasuchona, the organisation has produced BELASHESE KOLAHAL, a play by Kajol Chakraborty and drirected by Sohini Sengupta. The play tells the story of a mundane middle-class life reaching its fag end to realise that dreams have remained unfulfilled, and in the despair finds simple reasons to rejoice and celebrate life.  The viewers at the end are thus gifted with a sense of well-being  – an experience rarely enjoyed after the curtains. Veteran thespians Swatilekha Sengupta and Biswajit Chakraborty have lived up to their names while the others perfectly worked out their individual roles. Tapan Sinha’s music played an important role in the production. But Sohini’s directorial venture did not have the finesse to deliver an unblemished piece of work. 

Howrah Bratyajon is yet another group with the popular brand-name. Their first venture, JAYOMAAN, is a play by Debashis Biswas, who is also the director of the play, and is based on a story by Amitabha Samajpati. The play portrays such a negative face of the society that one feels a sense of hopelessness till a positive character excellently played by the director comes on to the stage. But sadly this character turns to be surrealistic. Other characters are not well distributed and fail to build up a coherent storyline. However, the production can be proud of Tannistha Biswas who does a magnificent job in the role of a tormented young girl. The liberty taken to introduce obscene words in English cannot be justified and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Barasat Anushiloni’s CHHAYABRIKSHA is a play by the veteran Debkumar Bhattacharya and tells the story of the clandestine deeds of an organisation set up to facilitate brain-drain and leave the country bereft of intelligent persons. The play is directed jointly by Bijoy Mukherjee and Subir Mukherjee – a feat not seen in recent times. But the play itself is very weak in content and form, thus the viewers find little elements of interest to watch and viewing becomes drudgery. Acting is mediocre and even extends to amateurish performances. Production, too, is very unprofessional and that is very sad as the onus lies on no other than Bijoy Mukherjee whose earlier productions smacked of immaculate elegance. The most disappointing part is the brochure where umpteen horrible mistakes in the English language have put the credentials of the group in question. I cannot but resist from illustrating one such devil. In describing the virtues of someone who rejects devious wealth for human values, it states, “.... avaricious, honest, dedicated....”.