Jahangirnagar University's Selim Al Deen Open Stage will host a three-day theatre festival titled "Nobin Boron" under the banner "Let the new charioteer arrive on the stage of a turning age." Organised by Jahangirnagar Theatre, the event — called "Jagoroni" — opens Today and will present three full productions free to the public.
Priyanka Karmakar, the organisation's office secretary, said the festival is intended as a cultural response to a moment of political and social change. "Standing at this historic threshold, cultural workers must guide the new generation," she said. "Through free performances, we hope to awaken a fresh sensibility among young people."
Jahangirnagar Theatre general secretary Meher Afroze Shaoli told the media that the festival also answers rising threats to the cultural sphere. "Our language of resistance is theatre. We want to connect with young people and help launch a new era of cultural resistance," she said.
The programme opens this evening with Theatre Factory's production "Komola Ronger Bodh" — written and directed by Alok Basu. Wednesday's performance will be "Hayenar Khancay Boddho Jibon", written and directed by Syeda Meher Afroze Shaoli. Shaoli describes the play as a dystopian parable: a city where half-decayed corpses lie in dustbins, streets are stained with blood, people disappear daily, and a mother's search for freedom becomes a labyrinth of memory and violence.
The work follows Itra Heneffi, a woman plotting escape from an asylum, and Nurse Ellery, whose immersion in remembered trauma draws both her and the audience into a maze of liberation. The production features choreography by Akash Sarkar, music by Apon Sharma and Abu Naim, and lighting by Krishna Chandra Barman.
The festival closes Thursday with Prachyanat's staging of "Kinu Kaharer Thetar", a play by Manoj Mitra directed by Kazi Toufikul Islam Emon. Across three nights, "Nobin Boron" aims to pair sharp, contemporary writing with urgent staging to provoke conversation among students and the wider public.
Organisers stress the festival's accessibility: all performances are free, reinforcing the organisers' goal to broaden theatre's reach at a time they say culture faces pressure. Advance details are available through Jahangirnagar Theatre's channels.