Theatre group Batighar staged the 28th show of its famous play "Radcliffe Line" at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) Wednesday.
The play, written and directed by Sanjoy Sarker Muktonil, depicts how a political barrier divides individuals and dehumanises them.
The plot revolves around an incident between two troops from Border Guard Bangladesh and Border Security Force of India, which portrays Jamal, a soldier of BGB and Hiralal, a BSF soldier, pursuing a cow grazing on no man's land.
Hiralal discovers a tunnel beneath the border barrier while following the cow from separate sides of the Radcliffe Line. Inside, Jamal and Hiralal confront each other and soon start fighting.
After hours of combat, the exhausted soldiers engage in a conversation and realise how similar their lives are. They discuss their history, their feelings for their families, and other topics.
Through the conversation, the soldiers become aware that they have been dehumanised by a phantom line that has robbed them of their humanity. However, just before the two soldiers are about to dissolve their illogical animosity, an unknown assailant kills them both with long-range shots.
The lead characters of the play were performed by Khalid Hasan Rumi, Sharan Biswas, Shishir Sarkar, and Sanjay Halder.
Despite being staged on a regular working day, the hall was full of theatre enthusiast audiences who lauded the frequent, witty conversations between the characters, as well as their skilled acting.
Radcliffe Line was first staged on July 27, 2018, at the Studio Theatre Hall of the BSA.
