BotTala brings back ‘Rise and Shine’ for Christmas shows this week
BotTala theatre troupe is set to stage two special holiday performances of its much-discussed play "Rise and Shine" during the Christmas break. First premiered in June 2022, the play has since earned steady audience appreciation and now returns to the stage with renewed urgency and relevance.
The two shows will be held on December 24 and 25 at 7 pm at the Studio Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Written by renowned Italian playwright duo Dario Fo and Franca Rame, "Rise and Shine" has been adapted from English into Bangla by Professor Abdus Selim. Direction is by M Sayeed.
According to BotTala, the play centres on the everyday struggles of a working-class woman—framed within the suffocating confines of domestic life and relentless labour. At its core, the production is a story of exploitation and oppression, revealing how ordinary people survive under crushing systems of power. On stage, the character of "Mariam's mother" becomes a stand-in for countless marginalised, whose existence is shaped by hardship and quiet endurance.
Director M Sayeed describes the play as deeply universal.
"This is everyone's story," he says. "The story of almost every woman, every mother, every working woman. On stage, you may see only one actress, but you will recognise the life of any woman you know."
He adds that the play traces a woman's day from morning onwards—her routines, her silent suffering under domestic pressures, overtime shifts in garment factories producing for multinational buyers, a husband's volatile temper, and finally, the moment when she attempts to break free. "That attempt to rise, to ignite, is what 'Rise and Shine' is about," the director says.
The cast includes Kazi Roksana Ruma, Farjana Afroz Fariha, Monira Khatun Sristy, Ashraful Islam Ashru and others, bringing to life a range of characters that orbit the central figure and deepen the play's social critique.
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