PHOTO: PRABIR DAS

The staging of the three Greek classical tragedies – “Oedipus”, “Oedipus at Colonus” and “Antigone”-- penned by famous ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles drew hundreds of theatre enthusiasts at Chittagong Shiplakala Academy premises on Friday evening.
Chittagong's high-flying theatre troupe Fame staged the four and a half hour “Greek trilogy” on the open stage of the Academy.
This was the second staging of the three tragedies, most commonly known as Theban plays by Fame. The troupe first staged the trilogy on the open stage of DC Hill premises in 2005.  
Adapted by noted writers Syed Ali Ahsan and Shudhangshu Ranjan Ghosh, the three tragedies are sagas of the misfortune that dogs Oedipus, the king of Thebes, and his inheritors.
An oracle prophesied that Oedipus would be the cause of his father's death and become his mother's husband. The oracle's prediction came true though Oedipus remained in the dark about the prophecy.
Chittagong University Dramatics Department teacher Ashim Das, who is also the chief of Fame, designed and directed the plays.  
Talking to The Daily Star, Das said only seven of over 100 plays of Sophocles survived the test of time. The three tragedies are widely popular as a trilogy though the plays were not written as a series.
“The staging of the Theban plays of the master playwright Sophocles was a challenge for us but all of us, with limited resources presented the plays before the audience and made the programme a success,” he added.
In ancient Greece, the audience enjoyed the plays staged on a gallery-like open place from dawn to dusk, he added.
“As this was not possible in the present context of the country, we staged the three plays consecutively on a open stage from dusk to 10.30pm in an effort to recreate Greek theatre with the use of masks”, said Mubidur Sujat, an activist of Fame, adding that they had practiced the dialogues for six months and during that time they had not performed in any other production.
“The background music and the intelligent use of the lights had me spellbound,” said Dulal Dasgupta, a well-known theatre activist of the city. He also appreciated the sincere effort of the troupe.
“It is a good sign that the entire Shilpakala Academy premises were teeming with people all the way up to10:30pm” said Anisur Rahman Nasym, a theatre connoisseur. He, however, criticised the poor sound projection of the choruses.    
Mubidur Rahman Sujat and Poly Chowdhury Boby played the roles of Oedipus and Antigone respectively.  Swanupama Sengupta, Rumal Barua, Saifur Rahman Parvej, Tapas Chakraborty, Nazia Tabassum Nancy, Shahriar Md. Shiblee and Khadijatul Kubra Rishika also played important roles. Ashim Das designed the music and costumes of the plays.