UAP Drama Club stages ‘Postmortem’ at Shilpakala

A school student’s personal testimony anchors “Postmortem”, a stage production that turns a child’s experience into a wider examination of social pressure, parental expectation, and the quiet violence of a success-driven urban life.

The play will be staged on Saturday at 7:00pm at the main stage of the National Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

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“Postmortem” is the fifth production of the University of Asia Pacific Drama Club and is written and directed by Fahim Maleque Evan. The narrative unfolds through the voice of a school-going child, using individual memory as a way to map broader social contradictions. Rather than offering spectacle, the production relies on close observation and restraint to show how institutional and familial pressures shape children long before they are old enough to resist them.

At its centre, the play interrogates a competitive social order that treats examinations as battlegrounds and achievement as survival. It raises direct questions about the responsibilities of parents, the emotional costs of ambition, and the fragile relationship between care and control. By framing these tensions through a child’s account, “Postmortem” exposes conflicts that are often dismissed as routine until their consequences become irreversible.

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Speaking about the production, Evan said, “At a time when the cultural sphere feels stalled due to various constraints, I believe a production like this by a private university drama club can still play a meaningful role in society.” The remark reflects both the play’s social intent and a broader belief in theatre’s ability to intervene where public conversation has grown muted.

All roles in “Postmortem” are performed by members of the University of Asia Pacific Drama Club. The ensemble-driven approach reinforces the production’s emphasis on collective experience rather than individual heroics. Performances are grounded in lived familiarity, keeping attention on narrative clarity and emotional precision.

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Lighting design is by Faruk Khan Titu, while costume design has been handled by Sajia Afrin Lubna. The background music has been composed and planned by Evan himself, ensuring a cohesive tonal framework that supports the play’s themes without overwhelming them. Overall management of the production is overseen by DSWO.

The choice of the title “Postmortem” is deliberate. The play does not offer comfort or an easy resolution. Instead, it asks what remains after damage has already been done—when values are examined too late, and silence has already taken its toll. It invites audiences to consider how pressure is absorbed, normalised, and passed down, often without acknowledgement.