As part of the ongoing cultural event in Chittagong, a seminar was held at the TIC Auditorium on October 8. The topic of the keynote paper of die seminar was Crises and Potential of Our Theatre presented by drama personality Nasiruddin Yousuff, the president of Shammilito Shankskritik Jote (SSJ). The seminar was presided over by Dr. Anupam Sen. Ahmed Iqbal Haidar, the director ofTIC was the moderator.

Nasiruddin Yousuff in his presentation focuses on the political, social and artistic crises of theatre in Bangladesh. According to him, cultural activities of our country have often faced political threats. Yousuff cited examples of the bomb blasts at the programmes of Chhayanaut, Udichi and others. Moreover, sometimes the cultural practitioners gel bogged down by the conservative society, he

noted. But, according to Yousuff, the most important element confronting theatre is the artistic crisis. So many years after the British Raj ended, we are still very much influenced by the European trend particularly in theatre. Though we have a rich tradition in Bangladesh, we do not have a unique theatre form based on our tradition, pointed out Yousuff. After his speech several theatrical activists like Lucky Inam, MSA Chowdhury, Shishir Datta, Mahbub Hasan and Professor Chowdhury Zahirul Haque discussed onYousufTs paper.

The most interesting aspect of the seminar was the reaction to YousufTs presentation by Chowdhury Zahirul Haque, a professor in the Department of Fine Arts, Chittagong University. Haque claimed that YousufTs presentation, while full of ideas, had limited application. He thinks, while a few experimental productions can be staged according to his view, no trend can however be created.

Despite the active participation of all, the discussants failed to uphold another vital theme of the topicthat of the potential or future of our theatre.