Acclaimed theatre director and founder of Dhaka University’s Department of Theatre and Music, Syed Jamil Ahmed, established Spardha Independent Collective with just five members in September 2018. Among them is the notable Mohsina Akhter. A direct student of Syed Jamil Ahmed, she is simultaneously a director, performer, and costume designer. This May, she made her big-screen debut with the release of “Jaya aar Sharmin”. However, she prefers not to differentiate between mediums of storytelling. As she explains, “People who know how to swim can swim in any body of water.”

“Monkey Trial” reimagines the 1925 Scopes trial — the landmark courtroom clash over the teaching of Darwinian evolution in an American classroom. The play follows an ordinary schoolteacher who, after introducing evolution in class, is prosecuted under reactionary law and thrust into a national controversy that exposed the fault lines between dogma and reason.

On a hot and humid evening of September 5, 2025, Gallery Chitrak inaugurated “Troyee”, a group art exhibition featuring three talented artists – Shahnaz Begum Shahin, Miratul Fatima Raka, and Shahin Sobhana Suravi. The trio, close friends and alumni of three different departments at the Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka, came together to present this collective showcase.

Adapted from Utpal Dutt’s political play “Mrityur Atit,” the new version is directed by Mithun Mostofa, who also takes on a central role. His vision renders the script both intimate and biting — a production that shifts effortlessly between cutting satire and heartfelt emotion. Technical direction by Asif Munier keeps the staging lean and dynamic, ensuring the words and performances remain front and centre.

The exhibition presents a rare visual chronicle of one of Bangladesh’s greatest treasures, Sultan, spanning from his reclusive days in his village home in Machimdia, Narail, to his later years. Photographs, letters—many never previously seen—allow viewers to step quietly into the private world of a man who preferred to live through his paintings, labour, imagination, and solitude.

Drik Picture Library observed its 36th founding anniversary with the Golam Kasem Daddy Lecture titled “Media Genocide in Gaza”. The event was held at DrikPath Bhobon last Friday.

The Oriental Painting Studio will inaugurate the third edition of its signature exhibition, “Guru-Disciple: Disciple-Guru”, today at 5pm at Zainul Gallery, commemorating the timeless bond between guru and disciple in Oriental painting.

The bilingual production, translated into Bengali by Prajna Tasnuva Rubayyat and directed by Gustav Deinoff, will be performed today at La Galerie of Alliance Française de Dhaka. On the opening day, there will be two shows — the first at 7pm and the second at 8:15pm.

Bhumi Gallery in Lalmatia inaugurated “Metropolitan: Beauty in Chaos” on August 29, 2025. This duet painting exhibition by architect and artist MM Maksud Biplob and artist Al-Akhir Sarker was arranged by Shilpangan, featuring our overpopulated yet beloved Dhaka city.

Sadhika Srijoni Tania, accompanied by researcher–performer Simon Zakaria, has carried the haunting resonance of ancient Bengali “Charyapada” across Europe throughout August, reviving a thousand-year-old tradition in new cultural landscapes. From university lecture halls to radio waves and open-air stages, the pair transformed what is often treated as brittle manuscript material into a living, breathing performance.

What I didn’t know as a child was that this gentle figure was, in many ways, a rebel. Mustafa Monwar’s art was never just about puppets or paintings. It was about freedom, about expression, and about believing that children deserve more than entertainment; they deserve hope, creativity, and courage.

A performance hits the landmark of being memorable when it offers elements to make the audience think while leaving them with realistic realisations. In the same spirit, the dance drama “Crested Ibises” unfolds a profound meditation on the fragile relationship between humans and the natural world.

“Hawabibi In this City”, a solo exhibition by artist Shaily Shrabonti, was officially inaugurated at La Galerie of Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) during the warm evening of last Monday (August 25). Shaily is a Dhaka-based visual artist who holds a BFA and MFA in Oriental Art from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Her art reflects the struggles, resilience, and success of women in patriarchal societies.

In the history of Bangladesh’s cultural sphere, few figures shine as brightly as Mustafa Monwar. Painter, puppeteer, television producer, art educator—his artistry has touched nearly every medium, but it is his devotion to children that has left the deepest mark. Generations have grown up enchanted by his puppetry, his vision of an art that is joyous, fearless, and nourishing for young minds.

That night in December 1921, while his comrade Muzaffar Ahmed slept, Nazrul scribbled furiously. By the morning, the air was charged with something new. “Bolo Bir, Chiro Unnoto Momo Sheer…” (“I am the Rebel Eternal, / I raise my head beyond this world, / High, ever erect and alone!”) he declared. It was not merely the birth of a poem but of a cultural rupture. Critics would later see in “Bidrohi” a break from the ‘Rabindric’ serenity that had long defined Bengal’s literary landscape—a new current of words forged in fire, laced with the clang of rebellion.

Dhaka’s theatre scene, long in search of renewal, is finding fresh energy in Spardha: Independent Theatre Collective. Since its establishment on September 12, 2018, the troupe has earned a reputation for uncompromising productions, presenting works such as “Jibon O Rajnaitik Bastobota”, “4.48 Psychosis”, “Bismoykor Sob Kichu”, “Ami Birangana Bolchi”, and “Tobu-o Jege Uthi”. More than conventional performances, each production has served as a pointed provocation—inviting audiences to confront social realities with sharper attention.

For the first time, Dhaka University hosted a campus stand-up comedy show titled “Hashir Adda”. The event was held last evening at the TSC Auditorium, where a packed audience turned up in overwhelming numbers.

Bengal Shilpalay inaugurated “Shotoborshe Sultan” yesterday, a solo photography exhibition by Nasir Ali Mamun, held as a tribute to legendary Bangladeshi artist SM Sultan on his birth centenary.

The Dhaka unit of theatre troupe Bibarton Jessore’s children’s wing brought Rabindranath Tagore’s classic play “Rother Roshi” to the stage last evening, marking their second theatre production. 

Galleri Kaya inaugurated the “Celebrating Murtaja Baseer” exhibition yesterday, honouring the novelist, researcher, numismatist, poet, filmmaker, and art critic — with August being the month that observes both his birth and passing.