Three plays, one ticket: Charuneedam celebrates 18th anniversary at Shilpakala

Charuneedam Theatre, the Dhaka troupe that began its journey in 2007, celebrates its 18th anniversary with an ambitious triple bill: the company will stage the 100th performances of three plays — "Arshola", "Nana Ronger Din" and "Sharater Megh" — on Monday evening at the Experimental Theatre Hall of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Audiences can see all three productions on a single ticket when the curtain rises at 7pm.

Renowned director Gazi Rakayet, who helms the company's Chekhov-focused season, has directed the three productions. "Nana Ronger Din" and "Sharater Megh" are drawn from the work of Anton Chekhov and have been adapted for the stage by Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay. "Arshola", translated into Bengali by Nirup Mitra, is a local staging of a play by Tennessee Williams that explores the writer's early struggles and the crucible that shaped his art.

Charuneedam's program threads together themes of creativity, social value and love: "Nana Ronger Din" examines the social valuation of an artist; "Sharater Megh" turns on perennial questions of love and longing between men and women; "Arshola" stages the formative, hungry years of an emerging writer. The evening promises a compact festival of tone and texture — from the domestic to the existential — each piece offering a distinct theatrical mood.

The ensemble cast includes Gazi Rakayet himself alongside Gautam Ray, Dr Marjia Akter, Nilufa Yasmin Nila, Ashiul Islam, Subarna Saeed, Shahriar Mithun and Akhand Zahid. Rakayet's direction aims to balance fidelity to the texts with urgent, contemporary stagecraft; the company says the triple performance will be both a celebration and a rehearsal in public — a chance to refine craft through repetition and audience encounter.

Posting on their Facebook page, Charuneedam noted that the 18-year arc has been about steady growth and continual risk-taking: "Eighteen years have flown by as we keep pushing ourselves to exceed our own limits. On 15 September 2025 we celebrate the centenary performances of our Chekhov productions and Charuneedam's 18th anniversary together. The presence of every member will light up this celebration."

For theatre-goers seeking a dense, thought-provoking evening of modern and classic drama, Charuneedam's centenary triple bill is an invitation to witness a company at work — honouring tradition while testing its own limits. Tickets are available now for the September 15 performance.

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