Sohag Sen gears up to celebrate group’s birthday with a Turkish play

Sohag Sen’s theatre group, Ensemble, is all geared up to celebrate its 38th birthday on Thursday. To mark the 38th year, Sohag and Kaushik Bose have adapted late Turkish playwright Tuncer Cücenoğlu's Avalanche as Dhash (in Bengali). The play talks about silencing the public and licensing time.
“We are looking at an opening of the play in early May. This play truly reflects my activism in many folds and addresses all kinds of fascism that looms large to keep us in fear, not to forget a virus that has almost paralysed humanity,” said Sohag Sen, who is busy mentoring actors for the new production.
Founded by Sohag in the 1980s, Ensemble has become a forerunner for innovative theatre practices that also introduced contemporary social issues in the fabric of arts.“The key differentiator for the group has always been how it has blended arts and politics to create new texts, artistes and methods of addressing theatre. It has also introduced contemporary playwrights like Mahesh Elkunchwar, Satish Alekar and even Botho Strauss in the scene of Bangla theatre, which remained predominantly busy adapting classical or neoclassical theatrical texts.,” said artiste Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee, Sohag’s long associate, who plays a pivotal character in one of the group’s important plays, Chhoto Chhobi.