Under the slogan “Drama Is Our Right/Who Can Stop the Power of Drama”, the New York-based cultural organization Kristi hosted an event featuring musical performances, a discussion on the state of stage drama in the diaspora, and a staging of a play titled “Stretch Out Your Hands”.
Supported by the Queens Library, the event last Saturday brought together expatriates from the younger generation as well as intellectuals from various fields.
After a welcome speech by Swadhin Majumdar, six songs from various life-inspired plays were performed in chorus under the direction of Dr. Jibon Biswas. The performers included Jibon Biswas, Sritesh Dhar, Ashalata Deb, Mukta Dhar, Rupali Ghosh, K. Dhar, Harold Liton Phillips, Shipra Dey, Sifatuddin Palak, Cristella Cuya, Deepa Debnath, and Dipto Roy.
The second part of the event, moderated by actress Bannya Mirza, featured a discussion on the state of stage drama in the diaspora, with insights from actress Rokeya Rafique Baby.
Rokeya Rafique Baby shared her experiences and challenges of staging dramas during her long expatriate life. While there’s no shortage of theater performers, the audience numbers haven’t grown, she noted. She emphasized the need to work towards increasing interest in theater among expatriates.
The event concluded with the staging of “Stretch Out Your Hands”, a play based on Oriana Fallaci’s novel “Letter to a Child Never Born”, adapted by Anu Muhammad. The play was directed by Hira Chowdhury, with performances by Ferdous Iti and Hira Chowdhury.
The entire event was coordinated and directed by Sritesh Dhar, Tanvir Ahmed, Shukla Roy, Ziauddin Shipon, and Bannya Mirza.