‘সে মায়া কানন’ (Se Maya Kanon): Theatre Review

A historical play dealing in the history and evolution of theatres in India, particularly in Bengal, ‘সেমায়া কানন’ (Se Maya Kanon) brings forth the dark side of drama and how three ‘friends’ Sharat Chandra Ghosh, Biharilal Chatterjee and Upendranath Das comes forward and brings about a revolutionary change in theatres. The play opens up with Arna Mukhopadhyay (Sharat Chandra Ghosh) frustrated with himself after not being able to perform the role of Shakuntala to his heart’s content as he says that he is unable to portray the emotions of a woman. Together with Biharilal Chatterjee and Upendranth Das, he hatches a plan to form the Bengal Theatre which will go onto become the first public theatre in Bengal. They approach Vid (Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar) to be by their side who in turn takes them to Michael Madhusudan Dutt who refuses to write. In an interesting turn of events Michael promises to write a drama for them but he has a condition for it. Sharat Chandra Ghosh accepts his condition which is heavily criticized by none other than Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar himself. This condition by Michael brings about a sea change in the face of theatres of Bengal. A storm rages in Bengal after ‘they’ were cast on stage to act.

‘Bengal Theatre’ becomes the eye of the storm for a good period of time where they come across criticisms from almost everyone and every division of the society. Blamed, defamed, bruised and battered but nothing, absolutely nothing could stop Sharat Chandra Ghosh and his Bengal Theatre to move forward, not even the departure of one among the founding three. Entwined with intriguing sub plots and the portrayal of chorus in a unique manner সে মায়া কানন, is a must watch drama performance. Penned by Sounabho Bose (সৌনাভ বসু) and enacted by a plethora of quality actors, led and directed by Arna Mukhopadhayay, Se Maya Kanon has been performed in theatres across Howrah and Kolkata notably in Ram Gopal Mancha (Howrah) and Academy of Fine Arts (Kolkata), the last performance being at the Academy of Fine Arts on 2nd October 2021. Coming out of a Bengali Theatre Group, ‘Natadha’, the drama takes you back on a journey to the second half of the nineteenth century and creates moments of sheer brilliance that is bound to capture the imagination of all kinds of audience. After all, there can’t be much better a drama, than one which showcases a very important, if not the most important revolutionary event in the context of modern Indian theatre. Se Maya Kanon is highly rated by the audience and is a must see for everyone because a drama of this kind makes everyone fall in love with theatre.

A Brief about the Theatre Group, ‘Natadha’

Natadha is a pioneer group based out of Howarh, West Bengal. They not only believe in ‘play-acting’ but also firmly believes in ‘play-living’ (Facebook, Natadha’s Page). They have been performing dramas in theatres across Bengal and India since the last few decades and have come up with extraordinary dramas such as Bahubali, Mahabharat 2 and Othoi. To know more about them and to know when they will grace the theatres again with their presence, visit their Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/www.natadha.org

--- Chandradeep Roy

(Audience for 2nd October's Performance)