Bhubaneswar: The third evening of Bidyakanak Srujananusthana-organised five-day National Theatre Festival at Rabindra Mandap here turned into a gripping celebration of classical tragedy as the students of Drama department of Utkal University of Culture staged Sophocles’ timeless masterpiece ‘Oedipus’ on Monday.
The production drove home the haunting truth that ‘Destiny pulls the strings while humans remains mere puppets in its hands’.
It is an all-time popular Greek tragedy that follows Oedipus, abandoned at birth by his parents, who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother, only to blind himself in repentance when he discovers the devastating truth.
Though Oedipus is not new for Bhubaneswar theatre lovers and has been staged several times before, every production breathes new life into the tale through a distinct presentation style.
The latest rendition, directed by Debabrata Pattanayak, proved no exception.
The student actors rose to the occasion with remarkable performance, leaving the audience transfixed in their seats. Such was the grip of the production that silence took over the hall-one could hear a pin drop.
Among the audience was veteran theatre personality Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha, the founder of Nipa Rangmandal, Lucknow. “I had directed the play in 1977. Yet, it coaxed me to be part of it. The presentation style made all the difference,” he observed.
Pratap Rout’s evocative music added emotional depth to the production, though the high volume of sound occasionally found distracting.
One thing I want to point out here is the shrinking presence of young audiences in the auditorium. During the inaugural session, Odisha Natya Sangha president expressed his concern over declining number of youths attending plays and urged the groups to take initiative to attract younger audience to auditoriums.
My point is the play was staged by the University of Culture and the vice chancellor of the university was also present as one of the esteemed guests. Sad enough, very few university students were seen in the audience. It would have been better if the institution had encouraged or facilitated student participation, even if it meant compensating the organisers for ticket costs.
Earlier in the evening, esteemed guests such as Bhubaneswar (central) MLA Ananta Narayan Jena, Vice Chancellor of Utkal University of Culture Prasanna Kumar Swain, Odisha Natya Sangha president Mihir Kumar Meher, Parichay Foundation chairman Kishore Dwibedy inaugurated the evening by lighting the auspicious lamp.
The organisers conferred ‘Bidyakanak Samman’ on eminent theatre personality Paresh Chanddra Sahoo and photo journalist Asit Satapathy.
According to festival organizer Subhakanta Padhi, this year marked a new beginning as for the first time an institution was invited to participate in the festival. “From this year onward, we have decided to invite an institution to stage play in our festival. We think, this way, we can involve youngsters as it is need of the hour to produce young actors, directors, playwrights and audience,” Padhi added.
On the stage:
Bishnu Panda (King Oedipus), Snihal Maharana (Queen Jocasta), Rakesh Chand (Tiresias), Chandrasekhar Ransingh (Creon), Siddhant Baliarsingh (Shepherd), Subhankar Sahoo (Shepherd), Saiswarup Dey (Messneger), Debanshi Pattanayak (Ismene), Dibyanshi Mohanty (Antigone), Barsha Pani, Shubhalaxmi, Kajal, Arina, Bijay, Subhankar, Debaprasad and Lohitaksha (Chorous)
Off the stage:
Odia translation: Kunja RayDirection: Debabrata PattanayakAsst Direction: Chandrasekhar RansinghStage: Trimurti Arts, BhubaneswarMusic: Pratap RoutMake Up: Manas Pradhan Light: Bikash Pradhan Costume: Snihal Maharana, Kajal
