Mouna Bansari – a 4-star presentation by Angan Belgharia

 

Mouna Bansari – a 4-star presentation by Angan Belgharia

The eternal love story of Orpheus and Eurydice from the Greek mythology has been adapted by Sanjoy Chattopadhyay for Angan Belgharia for its latest production MOUNA BANSARI. There are a number of versions of this pair’s undying tale of love. These versions give different causes for the death of Eurydice, as also of the character of Aristaeus. In some versions it is said that Aristaeus was a shepherd, while in some other he is described as a bee-breeder. Then in one tale it is said that Aristaeus was attracted towards Eurydice and he chased her in the woods and while fleeing from him she was bitten by a snake. In some versions it is said the on the night of her wedding with Orpheus she was bitten by a snake while dancing in the woods with the nymphs. Chattopadhyay has used the character of Aristaeus to bring in an element of thrill and so what we get is a gripping tale of love and excitement. Choosing from the innumerous situations and characters from the Greek tale Chattopadhyay has chosen seven characters and two main incidents to build his play. The lyre of Orpheus is replaced here with the flute, reminding one of Kazi Nazrul’s ‘Orphius-er bansori’ in the poem ‘Bidrohi’. However, in the first part he deals with the affairs of Orpheus and Eurydice, and the villainy of Aristaeus. In the next part the playwright describes the journey of Orpheus to the empire of Thedas in Hell to bring back Eurydice. And in the process of telling the story he has sharply hinted on the present-day scenario of the lumpen politics of caste and religion that is being methodically injected into our lives. The reference of the ‘Chowkidar’ in the character of Aristaeus in another interesting reference. The character of Orpheus has been given a poetic treatment. The character of Eurydice’s father, Kiriakos has been built in the mould of a sooth-sayer, thus posing a counter-point to the character of Aristaeus. The nymphs play as Chorus. But their songs do not go well with the build-up of the play.

Abhi Sengupta’s making of the play needs to be applauded. His designing has adequately brought out the richness of the script. As the play has two distinct parts there is a chance of a drop of the tempo, but Sengupta has aptly overcome that apprehension by meticulously mounting each of the scenes. though my line of vision was not ideal as the seat allotted to me at the AFA was at a side, I could judge that Debabrata Maity’s stage architecture and its construction by Madan Halder was certanly one of the strong points of the production. Soumen Chakraborty’s lights were perfect to bring out the moods of different theatrical moments created on the stage. He did not go in for dazzling illumination though there were ample scopes and opportunities for it. Alok Debnath’s make-up and hair-do by Tanusree Sengupta or Debabrata Das’s costume designs need mention. The puppets by Samit Das and his choreography together with Minakshi Mukherjee’s dance compositions deserve kudos as do Nilabha Chattopadhyay’s calligraphic artwork.

Samit Das’s Orpheus with his diction and expressions was a creditable performance. Subhashis Dutt’s Aristaeus was exquisite and the actor ably avoided overdoing his part. Mousumi Pal’s Eurydice. Subrata Sarkar’s Thedas and Baby Sengupta’s Queen were done to the director’s instructions. The Director himself portrayed Kiriakos.  

So, this is a production that could easily get a 4-star gradation on my part.