Prachyanat School stages Mamunur Rashid’s ‘Guinea Pig’ today
Prachyanat School of Acting and Design will present Mamunur Rashid’s satirical play “Guinea Pig” tonight as the 49th batch’s final production, capping six months of training in theatre craft at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka. The certificate ceremony and the performance begin at 6:30 pm. Veteran actress Dolly Zahur and Professor Yusuf Hassan Arko of Jahangirnagar University’s drama department are expected as special guests.
For 25 years, Prachyanat School has worked to expand theatre in Bangladesh and train a new generation of theatre practitioners, offering a six-month curriculum covering acting and the technical aspects of stagecraft. Forty-eight batches have completed the programme, and the 49th batch closes its term with this production.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 
Written by acclaimed playwright, director and actor Mamunur Rashid, “Guinea Pig” is a sharp satire rooted in Bangladesh’s socio-economic and political reality. The story exposes how ordinary people are treated like test subjects by the state apparatus and the affluent, highlighting deep disparities in how life and dignity are valued.
At the centre of the play is Ahmed Ali, a senior government official representing a privileged class that retained influence after Bangladesh’s independence, following the Pakistan era. His wife, Raziya, is absorbed in Rabindra Sangeet and social display, while their daughter Poppy represents a generation infatuated with modernity.
The plot hinges on Poppy’s pet guinea pig falling ill. As the household scrambles to secure expensive medicine for the animal, a parallel story unfolds of a hungry child in Keramat’s family crying for milk that never arrives. The play lays bare a society in which the well-to-do assign greater importance to the life of a pet than to the health of a needy child.
The stage production features a diverse ensemble, including Irina La Shafina, Arunito Bhor, Maria Akter Mridula, Sadman Nafis Kaderi, Graner Paul Dip Rozario, Sahadat Hossain, Fatima Tuz Johora Juthi, Afroze Maisha Jahan Alvy, Syeda Maisha Zahir, Arnab Roy Ankan, Ushaching Chowdhury, Sabuj Khan, Ashikul Islam Ashik and others. The performance is directed by Sakhawat Hossain Rezvi, with set and props planned by Swatee Bhadra, lighting and projection by Md Mukhlesur Rahman, music by AB Siddiqui, choreography by Diana Mereline Chowdhury and costume design by Jesmin Jahan Jhuma.
Through its biting humour and allegory, “Guinea Pig” challenges audiences to confront the inequities that persist in society. Prachyanat School’s decision to close its training cycle with such a piece underscores its commitment to theatre that interrogates social values and provokes reflection.
Comments