Scenic reading of the two contemporary German plays translated into Bangla have been held at the Bangladesh Mohila Samity  in the capital.

While welcoming the audience during her inaugural speech on Sunday evening, Dr Kirsten Hackenbroch, Director, Goethe-Institut Bangladesh highlighted the significance of the project titled “Contemporary German drama in South Asian Languages” to the local theatre scene.

This project aims to familiarize contemporary German plays to the South Asian local theatre scene and audiences alike. This project has been launched by Goethe-Institut Mumbai in 2020, focusing on the selection of plays, as well as identifying qualified German to local language translators at the initial stage. 

Afterward, 46 translations were produced out of 20 German plays. Some of these plays were translated by just one person, others by several; altogether they were translated into six languages: Bangla, Hindi, Marathi, Sinhalese, Tamil, and Urdu.

According to the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, contemporary German-language drama is characterized by enormous variety. It has long been and continues to be shaped by both a rich tradition and significant international influences.

Many playscripts written in German are known to audiences in Asia primarily through their English translations. It would of course be far preferable to present these plays to the public in Asian languages – in translations carried out by competent translators working directly from the German. 

This would also make it possible for theatre companies who operate in local languages to familiarize themselves with the current German theatre scene, according to the institution.

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Those reflections are what gave rise to the project: contemporary German-language drama in six South Asian languages – Bangla, Hindi, Marathi, Sinhalese, Tamil, and Urdu. These translations are intended first and foremost to be used within India, but will also be available to other Goethe-Instituts in Dhaka (Bangla), Colombo (Tamil and Sinhalese) and Karachi (Urdu), and in principle to Goethe Centres and additional theatre companies throughout South Asia.

On Sunday evening, Prachyanat staged the scenic reading of the German play titled “DER ZINNSOLDAT UND DIE PAPIERTÄNZERIN” by Roland  Schimmelpfennig. Romit Roy translated this play into Bangla.

Directed by Kazi Toufikul Islam Emon, the play featured performances by Diana Meriline, Urmi Saha Ray, Farhad Ahmed Shamim, AKM Itmam, Abdulla Mohammad Sakib, Prajna Tasnuva Rubayyat, Tanji Kun, Yead Khorshid Eashan, Swatee Bhadra, Gopi Devnath, Supti Das Chaity, Nahida Akhter Akhi, Ucchas Talukder, Mohammad Abu Imran, and Audree Ja.

Social organization Bonhishikha staged the scenic reading of the German play titled “ICH LIEB DICH“ (ভালোবাসি) by Kristo Šagor on Monday evening. Parthapratim Chattopadhyay translated this play into Bangla.

Directed by Shararat Islam, the two-person scenic reading was performed by Shararat Islam and Samina Yasmin, narrating different roles.

Followed by around 50 minutes of scenic reading, a panel discussion moderated by Syeda Samara Mortada was held. 

Sanjida Anwar Preety, Actor, Prachyanat Theatre Troupe and Samina Luthfa, Associate Professor, Dhaka University and Playwright and Actor, theatre troupe Bottala, were among the panellists.