Once upon a time, the theatre was a space to exhibit men’s performances where women’s roles too were played by men. Nowadays, these instances have been modified drastically, in tandem with the sociopolitical changes taking place all over the country. Amidst the persisting conservative social dogma of Bangladeshi society, women have recently begun to establish their presence in the theatre in significant numbers.
Academics tracing women’s footprint in theatre, both on and off stage, have found that women’s creative participation in theatre has grown over the years. This is thanks to changes in people’s beliefs, philosophy, culture, religious activities, judiciary, and political practices. People’s economic activities, which form the basic structure of a society, have changed too, caused the superstructures to be shaped differently.
Earlier, women either had to adapt to the changes or fight for their position in theatre. According to researchers, it was tough for women to join theatre as the patriarchal society, religion or political situation did not favor their presence in the cultural field. With ardent effort and love for theatre, they have recently been able to contribute. Unfortunately, however, rewards for women in theatre is still rare.
The government introduced the Ekushey Padak – the second highest civilian award of Bangladesh – in 1976, and especially for culture and arts in 1977, However the first female actor to receive this was Ferdausi Majumdar in 1998. This year, the government has honored Lucky Enam and Suborna Mustafa with the award for their contributions to theatre and broadcasting media with acting.
Theatre and film researcher Sajedul Awwal writes in his article titled Bangladeshe Group Theatre Charchay Narir Angshagrahan and Srijanshilatar Prakash that there were some permanent theatre halls, namely Purbabanga Rangabhumi (1862), Crown Theatre (1890) and Diamond Jubilee Theatre Hall (1904) in Old Dhaka where female dancers, mostly Hindu Bengalis, proved their acting skills in Urdu-based dramas.
Another theatre researcher Mahfuza Hilali mentions Kamini Sundari Debi as the pioneering Bangla playwright in her article titled Bangladesher Natoke Narir Bhumika O Bhabishyat. Kamini writes two plays – Urbashi (1866) and Usha (1871).
After India-Pakistan partition in 1947, theatre practices among amateur artists of different offices, clubs and educational institutions grew. Except for acting and playwriting, women’s participation in other theatrical activities was negligible, Sajedul writes.
Among a few freelancing female artistes, Rajia Khan Amin and Nurjahan Murshed performed in Bijoya in 1951. The play was an adaption of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s title novel and staged in Old Dhaka-based Mahbub Ali Institute. In 1953, the Cristi Sangha staged Porobari in another Old Dhaka-based Britannia Hall where Renuka and Rina – two freelancers – also performed.
With the concept of group theatre, a theatre named Drama Circle was formed in 1956. Sajedul writes that Drama Circle members including Kulsum Huda, Saberi Mustafa, Layla Samad, Azmeri Zaman and Syeda Rawshan Ara Ranu who successfully proved their acting skills.
Besides them, Sabitri Chattapadhaya, Shirin Chowdhury, Sitara Sattar, Marium Khandakar, Halima Haque, Ferdausi Majudar, Suriya Begum, Toly Roy, Purnima Sengupta, Akhtari Begum, Arunprabha Roy, Rokyea Kabir, Lily Chowdhury, Nurunnahar, Jahrat Ara, Mominunnesa, Geeta Datta, Khaleda Fancy, Mamtaz Lily, Masuda Chowdhury, Farida Bari, Rani Sarker, Tandra Bhattacharjee, Minati Hossen, Chitra Sinha, Nasima Khan, Manjuri Biswas, Renuka Chakrabartty, Smriti Rekha and Laila Hasan lit the torch for the present day female actors.
‘The ladies worked hard, embraced social hatred and overcame barriers of their family,’ Mahfuza writes.
According to Sajedul, a number of playwrights including Shahida Khatun, Rajia Khan, Layla Samad, Kundaprabha Sen, Nilima Ibrahim, Maliha Haque, Zobeda Khanam and Daulatunnesa Khatun who contributed to Bengali theatre during the time between 1947 to 1971.
Sajedul cites that socially advanced and educated women engaged themselves not only in writing plays and performing on the stage but also organizing theatre activities, during the time when Pakistani colonial rulers imposed a ban on practicing Bengali culture.
“Popularity of humanitarianism, democratic values, and secularism in the society helped encourage women to join cultural and political activities during that period,” Sajedul writes.
In the first decade of independent Bangladesh, the appearance of women in theatre grew overwhelmingly. Mita Chowdhury, Kazi Tamanna, Sultana Kamal, Nadira Mannan, Shimul Yousuf, Saeeda Islam, Afroza Banu, Naila Zaman, Lucky Enam, Sara Zaker, Phalguni Hamid, Suborna Mustafa, Tarana Halim, Naila Azad Nupur, and Wahida Mallik Joly, among others, joined theatre that period, Mahfuza writes.
The likes of Sarker Apu, Kristi Hefaz, Sunita Saha Roy among others, started their theatre career in the 1980s.
Azmiri Wares, Falguni Hamid, Nasreen Jahan, Samina Lutfa, Ishrat Nishat, Shamim Akhter are among the creative playwrights who have proved their skills in post-independent Bangladeshi theatre.
Following studies conducted by Sajedul and Mahfuza, we can find a pool of women who have played a directorial role in the flourishing theatre of the country. Lucky Enam, Sara Zaker, Ferdausi Majumdar, and Esha Yousuf, among others, are worth mentioning as talented directors.
According to Sajedul’s note, Nilufar Matin (directed Unmachan in 1972) and Saieda Morsheda Khanam (directed Ranghin Signal in 1972) are the pioneering female directors of Bangladesh’s theatre.
Women have successfully left their mark in many creative sections of the theatre. Saieda Khanam was the set designer of Baki Itihash that was premiered on stage in 1973. Khairuzzaman Mitu and Irin Parvin are among prominent set designers. In Sajedul’s article, three light designers’ –Baby, Ishrat Nishat, and Irin Parvin are cited.
Researchers have found women’s contribution to costume design since the beginning of post-independent Bangladeshi theatre. Ferdausi Majumdar, Nazma Anwar, Lucky Enam, Sara Zaker, among others, are prominent costume designers for theatre.
Shimul Yousuf, Yasmin Ali, Kristi Hefaz, Lucky Enam are among the talented background sound composers. Choreography becomes a crucial part of the theatre, especially for poetic drama, nowadays. Shimul Yousuf, Lucky Enam, Alpana Sultana, Sunita Saha Roy, Tamanna Rahman, Soma Mumtaz, and Naila Azad Nupur, among others, have choreographed a number of plays.
Ferdausi Majumdar
Ferdausi Ara Beguam was among 14 children of a civil service provider Abdul Halim Chowdhury and Umme Kabir Afia Begum. Joining the theatre was very difficult for her, as her father was very conservative. Halim used to consider cultural activities like dancing, singing and acting as anti-Islamic. However, Ferdausi’s elder brother, martyred intellectual Munier Chowdhury was obsessed with theatre. He used to write plays and read them out to his sisters as the audience.
“One day in the early 1960s, Munier called on me and wanted me to be a proxy in a stage adaptation of litterateur Shawkat Osman’s Daktar Abdullahar Karkhana”. My casting was only the role of a robot. I was a complete novice. Even then, it was unimaginable for me as I was scared of my father’s backlash. However, Munier assured me of his support,’ Ferdausi said, adding that she first appeared on the stage in 1961.
In 1972, Ferdausi along with her husband Ramendu Majumdar, Abdullah Al Mamun and a few Chhatra Shikkhak Natya Goshthi members formed a theatre troupe calling it Theatre.
Over the years, she performed in plays like Kokilara, a one-woman play, Eka, a one-character non-verbal play, Tamoshi, written by Nilima Ibrahim and others. She directed five stage plays including Meherjan Arekbar, Tahara Tokhono, Chithi, and Dui Bon.
Ferdausi will remain memorable in the audience mind for her praiseworthy performance in Kokilara. She says, “When Abdullah Al Mamun handed me the script of it to me, I became nervous as it was a lengthy play for 2:30 hours. He said that I would have to memorize the dialogue only. However, I did so while merging my life with the character and would often conduct daily chores while reciting the dialogues.”
Despite full support from her husband and in-laws, career development in a theatre was still a struggle for Ferdausi. She observes that theatre activism is now more open compared to the time she had joined in theatre. She says, “Social dogma and family restrictions were our main hurdles. The present-day female actors do not face such difficulties although there are some new challenges that exist in society.”
Lucky Enam
Daughter of Kalim Ullah Bhuiyan
and Mahua Bhuiyan, Lucky learned dancing and singing in her childhood. Although her government official father was strict about his children’s education, all her siblings were given enormous scope to engage in cultural activities. Lucky, thanks to her childhood orientation with dancing and singing tutorials, was able to cope with the diverse activities of theatre.
In 1970, Lucky married a BUET teacher named Enamul Haque who along with Zia Hayder, Ataur Rahman, Abul Hayat, Golam Rabbani, Zillur, Fakhrul Islam and some others formed a theatre group called Nagorik Natya Sampradaya.
Most of the group activities were centered around an open space near the Architecture Building of BUET.
One day in 1972, Lucky came to Dhaka and made an appearance at BUET without prior notice. Nagorik members were rehearsing Michael Madhusudan Dutta’s Buro Shaliker Ghare Ro under the direction of Ataur Rahman. The group then lacked female artists. “Ataur asked me to join the group as he knew about my dance skills. Fearlessly I agreed. Instantly, Ataur took a recruitment test and I successfully passed it. The group members unanimously approved my membership,” With only a one month-rehearsal, Lucky prepared for the role and first appeared on a Dhaka stage on July 17, 1972.
Lucky and Enam left Nagorik Natya Sampradaya in October, 1994 and formed Nagorik Natyangan on January 1, 1995. Lucky scripted and Enam directed Nagorik Natyangan’s first production Kholosh–an adaptation of British playwright J.B. Priestley’s play The Inspector Calls. Kholosh was first staged in April 1995.
“So far Nagorik Natyangan produced 24 theatre plays, one-third of them are directed by me and the rest by Enam,” says Lucky who is currently serving as general secretary of the group.
To promote theatre activism, the theatre family established Nagorik Natyangan Institute of Drama at a rented house in Siddheshwari, Dhaka in 2005.
Lucky feels grateful to the nation and state as the government has honored her with Ekushey Padak 2019 for her contributions in theatre.
Sara Zaker
Sara Amin, the third among four children of army officer Salahuddin Md Amin and Alia Amin, had all facilities at her disposal to ensure that she grew up as an open-minded and culturally advanced person.
Obsessed with theatre, Sara’s elder brother Allauddin Mohammadd Zaheen was the pioneering art enthusiast in the family. He gained fame with college-level acting aged 20.
A graduate student of Dhaka University’s English department, Zaheen was determined to join the freedom fighters when the Liberation War erupted in 1971. On April 5, he succeeded to escape Pakistan Army surveillance in Dhaka and reached Chandpur. But that was the last they heard of him. Zaheen disappeared forever.
Sarah was always determined to preserve Zaheen’s memory in some way. “I was merely 18 and had just appeared in the secondary school certificate examination. Our family friend Naila Zaman introduced me to Nagorik Natya Sampradaya in 1972.” Sara says, “adding that Naila’s father and ornamented war veteran Quazi Nooruzzaman requested her father to allow her to take part in theatre.”
Aly Zaker directed Baki Itihas was Sara’s first ever performance in the mainstream theatre. The first show was staged in the British Council auditorium in 1973.
Sara performed in Shen Te or Shui Ta – an adaptation of Brecht’s Der Gute Mensch von Sezuan, Bidagdha Ramanikul, Nishiddha Palli, Swet Manusher Khoje, Dewan Gazi’r Kischha, Naam-Gotraheen, Manta’r Meyera and Irsha, among others.
Sara married Aly Zaker in 1975 and took her husband’s family name. That same year, she enrolled in the biochemistry department of Dhaka University. Next year, she gave birth to Iresh Zaker. “After the birth of Iresh, I became confused about whether to continue my biochemistry studies because the subject required a lot of time in the laboratory”. Sara, determined to carry out her theatrical exercises as well as looking after toddler Iresh, had decided to switch to English Literature in the same university.
The talented actor performed in a few movies including Emilir Goyenda Bhabi, Nodir Naam Madhumati and Ontorjatra. However, Sara thinks that she was not serious about acting in movies. She says, “I gave my utmost attention to theatre, avoiding many scopes to become a movie star.”
She has directed Mukhosh-an adaptation of Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden, Anton Chekhov’s The Sea Gull and Open Couple — an adaptation of Dario Fo and Franca Rame’s The Open Couple.
The Bangladesh government awarded the theatre exponent with the Ekushey Padak in 2017 for her contribution to theatre.
Shimul Yousuf
Afroza Alam Billah’s life is entwined with the country’s struggle for independence as well as the many cultural movements throughout the decades after 1971.
Afroza, also known as Shimul Yousuf, the youngest among eight children of Mehter Alam Billah and Amina Billah, was brought up in a cultural family with a liberal inclination.
Shimul received formal music tutorials in her childhood. She was highly influenced by her brother-in-law Altaf Mahmud, a martyred intellectual.
In 1973, Shimul got admission at Dhaka’s art college (now Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University). In her second year at the college, she was awarded the newly introduced Indian High Commission scholarship and went to Baroda School of Fine Arts, India.
During her vacation after six months of BSFA enrollment, Shimul was summoned to perform as a proxy for a performer in a Dhaka Theatre production Bidaye Monalisa, directed by Al Mansur. The play was staged at an English medium school premises in Chittagong. Previously, Shimul took part in the same play independently presented by the art college students during culture week. Earlier, she also participated in a theatre play titled Ujan Paban, scripted by Abdullah Al Mamun. The play was staged at Dhaka Engineers Institute auditorium in 1972 to raise funds for the wounded freedom fighters. That was her first appearance on the stage.
She says, “After performing in Bidaye Monalisa, thespian Selim Al Deen of Dhaka Theatre appeared with a call to perform in his play titled Muntasir Fantasy. As Nasir Uddin Yousuf Bacchu insisted, I composed music for the project, I could not but became a part of the play. Embroiled in the theatrical performances, I had to cease my study at BSFA. Since then, I have not been able to separate myself from the theatre.”
Kasai, Char Khakra, Shakuntala, Phani Monosa, Kitton Khola, Keramot Mongol, Hat Hadai, and Chaka, Joiboti Kannyar Mon and Bono Pangshul are among the theatre play in which Shimul has shown her talent.
Shimul’s solo performance in Binodini, directed by Bacchu, is a remarkable one in the history of Bangla theatre. The play is based on a biography of the first female actor of Bangla theatre, Binodini Dasi. The legendary Binodini launched her career in 1874.
Jayita Mahalanobish
Jayita Mahalanobish is among one of the most prominent young theater artists who gained popularity as the director of Prothom Partho, a production by Theatre School Praktoni.
Daughter of Tarun Kumar Mahalanobish and Bithi Naha, Jayita joined theatre troupe Kanthashilan in 2000. She first performed on stage in a Nagorik Natya Sampradaya production Karigar in 2004. Thespian Khaled Khan directed the play.
In her 18-year career, Jayita has performed in 23 theatre plays while directed three.
Although the number of female actors in contemporary theatre has increased, Jayita still finds the number unsatisfactory. She says, “A career in the theatre seemed unsocial. Even a couple of decades back, city parents used to allow their children to participate in theatre for enlightenment. Although the ratio of people’s participation in theatre has increased nowadays, most of the newcomers are focusing on gaining fame within a very short period. This statement is valid both for male and female actors.”
Jaytia observes that working women, besides looking after their family members, face difficulty in managing time for theatre activism. Unfortunately, when they succeed in theatre after overcoming social barriers, they have to deal with discrimination. Without blaming any male co-artists in particular, the young director says, “Theatre people still do not like to see woman in a leading position.”
Jayita takes on all such challenges as a part of life, saying that willpower can solve many problems.
In 2015, Jayita formed her new theatre troupe, Theatre 52 (Bayanna).