Prachyanat

About 24 years ago a handful of young theatre enthusiasts came to realise that, in order to give shape to some their common ideas about art and theatre in particular, they should work from a common platform. The result was the floating of a new theatre group in February 1997 with the name Prachyanat. However, from the very outset these youthful dreamers wanted that this new group should not become a mere addition in the already crowded theatre scenario of Dhaka. As a result of the tireless efforts of the members of Prachyanat, many of its dreams have now flowered into reality. Apart from producing four full-length plays, all of which have been critically acclaimed and appreciated by the theatre lovers at home and abroad, Prachyanat now has as many as eight different programmes all of which in one way or the other, keeps alive the passion for artistic creativity. Besides producing three very successful plays by some of the foremost professionals of the country, another crowning success of Prachyanat is the establishment of Prachyanat School of Acting and Design in the year 2001. The school, only second of its kind in the country, has successfully run four 6-month courses while its fifth batch is already under way. This very young theatre group did not have to wait for long before institutional recognition came its way. Within two years of its existence, Prachyanat was allowed the distinction of being the best theatre group for the year Awards and other distinctions were quick to follow such as The Best Theatre Group, The Best Play of the Year, The Best Light Design. The most important thing this group is their dynamism and this daringness induced the group to come up with new areas of activity. The Theatre in the Open, Prachyanat for Children, Theatre–lab Production, Prachyanat Research Cell, and the Musical Ensemble.