Spandan Docu Theatre

Sampa Sen in introductory projection frame of 16 Millimeter
I like drama, but many times when it was an announced politics then I really get no pulse. Because in our country political dramas are usually tuned in high peach, lack of aesthetic sense, biased political thoughts, monochrome characters. You won't get any taste of reality of life. So, I prefer not to waste my time for seeing this sort of drama.

Published in Anndabazar Patrika on 28 August 2004
At last I find a great exception. Two short dramas of Spandan just bewildered me. I am totally absolved by their performance. I am so flooded that hang over is still going on.
Apparently both of dramas seem to be political theatre but there is no partisan politics. Both of them contain our present time, national conscience and analysis of deception. Front end and back end of history. But full of human touch, absolutely impossible to shift our mind till end.



In their conversation many conspiracy were referred, real terror and terror in the name of combating terrorism. Intelligent Soumi just disclosed a very vital information to that late night guest. Suddenly everything is getting changed, another devastation starts.



Second one act is more contemporary. Torture on Iraqi prisoner at Abu Ghraib prison. If the major focus was to depict those cruel scenes, then there should be no scope for discussion, the whole thing supposed to be a subject of news media. Lawyer Nicholas Terse cross the main accused of the trial Lt. Colonel Nathan Sassaman. In this cross an acute inhuman devastating experiment was exposed. A secret organization within the U.S. army instructed to continue torture Iraqi people in such a way to find out at what point their nervous system getting dismantled totally, at the right moment their blood sample was taken and secretly sent to us. This crude story is really a hatred experience, but it is brilliantly knitted with many tender fillings, love, failure, innocence of child to old all square common people. Here lies the uniqueness of the story.

The main credit of success of these two dramas is only for the dramatist Sangram Guha. He was the director of first one and acted on both of them. Director of second one is Samudra Guha. Sampa Sen proved her geniusness of acting by acted in diametrically two opposite character in two play. In the first one, she was that young lady lawyer, in the second one she acted in role of brutally tortured women. For long time I never saw such striking acting in theatre. In another roles acting of Sangram Guha, Samudra Guha, Sumita Mukherjee, Sankar prasad Banerjee, Iraqi child Abhigyan Guha need to be mention. Visually second play is spectacular due to set design by Hiran Mitra. Music and light is appropriate. Produced by Spandan. Two things need to mention, there is no need of using Urdu in dialogues of Iraqi people. Is there any need to give of both the play in English? If these type of drama produced in China name will not be in English.