Alliance française du Bengale, Shudrka Hyderabad & Culture Monks present Theatre Adda September 2025 session titled “Remembering Jibanananda Das”.

We remember & celebrate the poetry of Jibanananda Das with a lecture and a performance.

Date: August 13, 2025 from 6.30 pm – 9 pm
Place: Alliance française du Bengale, Park Mansions, Park Street, Kolkata.

Entry is free and open to all.

Lecture

জীবনানন্দ: পাতা থেকে পর্দায় যাত্রা — সঞ্জয় মুখোপাধ্যায় (Jibanananda: from the pages to the screen by Prof Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay)

Performance

Phiribar Poth Nai (No Way Out) by Shudrka

Phiribar Poth Nai is not so much a chronological retelling of Jibanananda Das’s life as it is an exploration of the evolution and depth of his literary world. Rather than narrating events, the play seeks to contextualize an oeuvre that has grown increasingly opaque and layered with time. We draw connections between poems of similar titles written across different periods and publications, and illuminate stylistic and lexical peculiarities by cross-referencing his poetry with his fiction, essays, letters, and the responses they elicited from critics and contemporaries.

This production is a tribute to Jibanananda—the humanist, the reclusive visionary—whose writings captured the raw, often unsettling truths of existence with honesty and quiet grace. With his unique syntax, deep reverence for nature, surreal imagery of the mundane, and richly symbolic language, we believe Jibanananda Das stands as one of the true pioneers of modern poetry.

Conceived by Shudrka Hyderabad in 2024 to mark his 125th birth anniversary, Phiribar Poth Nai is our homage to a poet whose relevance only deepens with time.

Cast & Crew

Actors – Souravi, Swapan & Sohini

Light Design – Jaydeep

Music Design – Abhimonyu

Stage Design – Monali & Swapan

Singer – Anindya

Play & Direction – Swapan Mondal

About Shudrka Hyderabad

Founded in 2004, Shudrka Hyderabad is a multilingual theatre collective rooted in Hyderabad and operating under the Shudrka Hyderabad Shilpitirtha Trust. Over nearly two decades, it has produced an impressive body of dramatic work in Hindi, Bengali, and Telugu and English exploring themes both classic and contemporary.

From its outset, Shudrka embraced a socially conscious mission—to bring theatre to communities, often performing rural- and folk-based productions with limited resources. As the group matured, it expanded its repertoire and methods, introducing diverse theatrical forms and breaking stylistic boundaries (www.shudrkahyd.com).

Their core mission revolves around:

  • Experimentation across drama, music, and text—while ensuring accessibility;
  • Developing a physical performance technique drawing from varied traditions;
  • Reimagining classics to resonate with modern audiences;
  • Engaging young and interdisciplinary theatre makers;
  • Nurturing flexible, forward-thinking performers; and
  • Addressing urgent social themes through their productions

Shudrka Hyderabad has participated in numerous national theatre festivals and international conferences. Its members have presented at the University of Austria, trained at the University of Kent, and taken part in theatre workshops like Kaimera and LaMaMa Umbria.

About Theatre Adda

Theatre Adda are monthly sessions of critical and diverse thoughts connected to theatre as well as for experimental performances in theatre and allied fields. This has been been jointly organized by Alliance Française du Bengale & Culture Monks for the past decade.

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