At the National Theatre Hall of Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka, a group of demonstrators have forced the organizers to abruptly stop the play “Nityopuran” in the middle of its performance.
After the demonstrators tried to breach the Shilpakala Academy gate, the play was halted at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to Fayez Zahir, director of the theatre and film department at the academy.
The play proceeded despite early opposition, but those in attendance reported that the organizers decided to end it when the protesters turned hostile outside the gates.
Syed Jamil Ahmed, the director general of Shilpakala Academy, spoke with the theatre group Desh Natak and ultimately decided to cancel the performance.
Witnesses reported that ticket buyers began arriving in the afternoon for Desh Natak’s planned performance of Nityopuran. However, at approximately 6 p.m., a group of people began demonstrating at the gates of Shilpakala, calling Ehshanul Aziz Babu of Desh Natak “an accomplice of the Awami League.”
The play started when Shilpakala DG Jamil tried to calm the demonstrators.
