Kenyan university includes Bengali author’s plays to its curriculum
The students of dramatics will read, interpret, and perform these two plays at the university hall in Autumn 2021
"Dawit Isaak" and "The Wolf and Minister" - the two plays of Bengali-Swedish author Anisur Rahman have been included in the dramatics curriculum-2021 of the Department of Languages, Linguistics & Literature of Kisii University, a government funded university in Kenya.
Next year during the autumn semester, these two dramas will be staged as well.
Dawit Isaak, written both in Bengali and Swedish language, is based on the life of a Swedish-Eritrean Journalist and playwright, who has been held in prison for 18 years without trial and was considered a traitor by the Eritrean government.
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Dhaka University's August Strindberg researcher Mahbub Siddiquee translated it into English. Ananya Prokashoni published its Bengali version at the Ekushey Book Fair this year.
The Wolf and Minister, was written in the backdrop of a refugee who turned into a hyena. The play was first commissioned by the Swedish Radio Theatre and NRK Norwegian Radio Theatre in 2012.
The students of dramatics will read, interpret, and perform these two plays at the university hall in Autumn 2021 and the information, photos and video-clips about the activity will be relayed to the playwright in collaboration with the Kistrech International Poetry Festival.
In-charge of the Kisii University's drama course, Dr Christopher Okemwa said, "The first play, based in Eritrea, highlights the oppression meted out by undemocratic states upon their innocent subjects, especially journalists who work hard to liberate their people by telling them the truth. The second play puts a spotlight on the plight of refugees in the world today. In both plays human rights are violated. Human Right violation is a universal theme and the two plays are very relevant to our society in Kenya and contain suitable materials for our drama students at Kisii University where I lecture drama and poetry."
Born in 1978 in Tangail's Madhupur, Bengali-Swedish writer Anisur studied language, literature, history, film, drama and Swedish television culture at the Dhaka and Stockholm Universities.
He is one of the board members of the Swedish Writers' Union. His diverse literary works include prose, poetry, novel, short story and books for children. His plays have been presented on Swedish Radio Theatre, NRK Norwegian Radio Theatre and at theatres in Bangladesh, India, Sweden, Armenia, Georgia and Norway. Anisur is a full-time writer for Swedish Centre for Literature in Uppsala and leads creative writing programmes. He is heavily involved in literary cultural debates in media houses like bdnews24.com and unt.se etc.
