BHUBANESWAR: A day after artistes of a Poland-based theatre group enacted a scene of a play semi-naked at the ‘Bharat Rang Mahotsav’, women activists on Saturday barged into Rabindra Mandap here, where the drama was staged, and ransacked posters of the troupe.
The activists then locked up the venue and raised slogans against the Polish theatre group, ‘Aleksander Wegierko Drama Theatre’, which had presented the play named ‘Sonka’ on Friday.
As per the script of ‘Sonka’, a female artiste had enacted the role of a woman who was subjected to sexual abuse by soldiers during a war in Eastern Poland. To depict the torture she faced, the artiste stripped in a scene, which did not go well with the audience, sources said.
Soon after the drama was over, a section of the audience took exception to the scene and brought the matter to the notice of Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Chandra Panda. The event was organised by National School of Drama (NSD) in collaboration with the State Government’s Culture Department.
Taking note of the incident, Panda said he would write to the NSD seeking clarification over the matter.
On the other hand, NSD Chairman Ratan Thiyam spoke to Dhirendranath Mallick, the Secretary of Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy, and assured that the matter will be inquired into.