Tale of fate and revelation, ‘Oedipus’ staged in Dhaka

A new production of Sophocles' timeless tragedy "Oedipus" opens this week at the Experimental Theatre of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy under the direction of Habib Masud. The staging revisits the play's probing questions of fate, conscience and self-knowledge in a compact, contemporary idiom. 

The premiere is scheduled for today at 7pm two further performances follow on Friday at 4:30pm and 7pm, in the same venue. 

This production uses Syed Ali Ahsan's Bengali translation of the text, bringing the classical verse into local diction while preserving the play's moral and philosophical urgency. Lighting is by Amlan Biswas; stage planning by Fazle Rabbi Sukorno; costume design by Irene Parvin Lopa.

On stage, H M Motaleb takes the title role of Oedipus. He is joined by a company that includes Rezaul Karim Reza, Jhumu Majumdar, Hiralal Das, Ahad bin Murtaza, Arghya Saha and Naimul Islam Siam, among others. The production's makeup is by Shubashis Dutta Tanmoy; props and set items were created by Shariful Islam Mamun and Roksana Akter Saima. 

Habib Masud's direction emphasises Oedipus's inward journey as much as the political tragedy that engulfs Thebes. The result is a performance that combines classical diction with contemporary stagecraft, asking audiences to watch a man unravel the consequences of prophecy and choice. 

For readers and regular theatre-goers: the play is a concise, serious evening of theatre—rooted in Greek tragedy but adapted through a Bengali sensibility that keeps both its intellectual bite and its emotional force intact. 

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