Theatre activists say they were attacked at protest at BSA

Theatre activists at Bangladesh Shilpaka Academy, Dhaka premises on Friday._11zon

Dhaka, Nov 8 - A chaotic situation took place in front of the National Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) in the capital on Friday afternoon, where hundreds of theatre activists under the banner of Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation (BGTF) gathered to protest against the mid-way stoppage of Desh Natok’s stage play ‘Nityapuran’ in the face of protests by a group of people last week.

This afternoon’s protest called for ensuring the safety and security of theatre artists.

Acting Chairman of Bangladesh Group Theater Federation Lucky Inam, General Secretary Kamal Bayezid, Desh Natok team leader playwright Masum Reza, Professor Malay Bhowmik and others joined the protest, addressing the incident and their frustration over the situation.

During the protest, when eminent theatre personality Mamunur Rashid spoke, a group of unidentified miscreants started throwing eggs at the theatre activists.

According to an email to media, sent by BGTF Secretary General Kamal Bayezid, “outsiders” physically attacked the participating theatre activists and injured some of them. Later, they tried to attack once again, and law enforcement units including police and Bangladesh Army tried to control the situation.

Meanwhile, some of the protestors spoke to different media outlets explaining their actions and said that they would not allow any “Awami League-allied” theatre worker to stage any play at Shilpakala Academy. Desh Natok troupe's Secretary Ehsanul Aziz Babu recently came under spotlight for his Facebook post “insulting” the Chief Adviser Dr Yunus and the interim government.

To address the attack and their next actions against the protestors, BGTF called an emergency press conference at the National Theatre Hall seminar room tomorrow at 11 am. - UNB