Theatre group Prangonemor on Sunday rescheduled its production titled ‘Shesher Kabita’ after they had received a threat from ‘Tawhidi Janata’.
Bangladesh Mahila Samity, the venue authority, received a letter from ‘Tawhidi Janata’ that threatened it with vandalism if the show was staged, said Gazi Ibrahim Feroz, management officer of Mahila Samity where Prangonemor had booked a hall to stage the production in the evening of Sunday and Monday.
‘We received a phone call early this morning from the venue authority saying that they cancelled our hall booking as they had received threats,’ said Nuna Afroz, director of the production.
She further said that her troupe then on Facebook announced a public protest to be staged on Sunday evening after which the police and Mahila Samity contacted her, offering security during staging of the play.
‘Neither Mahila Samity authorities nor the theatre group informed us about receiving threats. We contacted Mahila Samity and Nuna Afroz after we learned about the protest programme through their Facebook post and requested her to hold the performance,’ said Golam Faruk, officer-in-charge of the Ramna police station, adding that the police would ensure security during the shows.
Nuna Afroz told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that following the communication from the police and venue authorities, they now rescheduled the event to be held on Monday and Tuesday at 7:00pm.
Protesting at the threat, cultural organisation Bibartan Sangskritik Kendra on Sunday issued a press release denouncing the ‘malicious actions’ by ‘Tawhidi Janata’ to thwart cultural activities, terming it as new instances of fascism.
Earlier in February this year also, Bangladesh Mahila Samity cancelled its booking for a theatre festival over security threats from unidentified sources.