A traditional rural theatre of ancient Bengal that uses hunting for story-telling through folk opera and dance in a theatrical setting comes to Bethnal Green tomorrow.
The Sunday night performance of Beder Meye Jusna being staged at the Rich Mix arts centre is part of a season of Bangla drama.
It’s about the class struggle, adapted from the pre-medieval fairly tales by poet Ahmed Kaysher, delineating power, capital and class-struggle of the modern world-politics through a stormy love-story of feudal society of medieval Bengal.
This Bengali opera, narrated in English, features the cast in different roles of singing, playing and acting.
“This genre is something new in World music, stage director Ahmed Kaysher says. The class-conflict of Beder Meye Jusna was hugely popular in Bengal in late Seventies and Eighties, but is dying in its country of origin.
“Yet amazingly it’s being loved in the West for its capacity to involve different arts.”
He is hoping for a mixed audience “from different cultures” to see performances by Sonia Sultana, Sarwar Alam, Sohel Ahmed, Amalendu Podder, Amith Dey, Jessy Barua, Fahim, Shamim Shahan, Sajjad Miah, Rahel Chowdhury and Sohel Miah
The opera staged at Rich Mix in Bethnal Green Road, two minutes from Shoreditch High Street (Overground), begins 7.30pm.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here