Campus Chronicles
Moliere's Scapin staged
Cultural Correspondent
North South University Cine and Drama Club (NSUCDC) took their annual platform once again last week, with great enthusiasm and zest. On June 27 and 28, NSUCDC presented Scapin at the Shilpakala Academy, written by the great playwright Moliere. Directed by Dr Israfil Shaheen and translated by NSUCDC, the colours and the glamour had the audience awestruck.Most of Moliere's plays represent the social order and the hypocritical behaviour of the so-called crème-de-la-crème of society. He always managed to delve deep down into the human psyche and uncover the anxiety, envy, greed and aspirations of the social climber. Ironically, the situations witnessed and the plays written by him years ago are still relevant in Bangladesh. Scapin, is a lower-middle-class fellow who accompanies his master everywhere and looks after him. However, he is famous for his quick wit and repartee. Scapin's master and his master's friend practically end up begging Scapin for help, when their fathers discover their secret engagements to women assumed to be without a proper family background or inheritance. Scapin not only manages to have his masters agree to the engagements, he also wheedles out quite a large sum of money from them. NSUCDC intertwined various elements from the Bangladeshi society as well. The actors depicted familiar phenomena such as the whitening of black money and extortion at the hands of mastaans. It's a wonder how students take some time out of their classes and studies to produce a colourful and creative play. This just goes to show that educational institutions should have compulsory theatre classes just so the young minds can expand their world view.
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A portrait of Moliere (left), poster of the play |