The six-day theatre festival, Syed Badruddin Hossain Smriti Natya-Utsab O Smarak Sammanona 2026 , began yesterday at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, featuring six productions by six theatre troupes.

Organised by Padatik Natya Sangsad, the annual festival commemorates late theatre activist, language movement veteran, educationist, and the troupe’s lifelong president Syed Badruddin Hossain.

The festival was inaugurated at 6:30 pm through a ceremonial lighting of lamps at the lobby of the National Theatre Hall. The memorial honour presentation ceremony is scheduled for today, with State Minister for Cultural Affairs Ali Nawaz Mahmud Khaiyam as chief guest. Special guests include Mamunur Rashid, Saiful Haque, and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Director General Rezauddin Ahmed. The session will be chaired by Padatik Natya Sangsad President Tasnin Hossain Tanu.

This year’s Syed Badruddin Hossain Memorial Honour will be presented to actor and educator Wahida Mollick Jolly and theatre personality Kamal Bayezid. The festival opened with Desh Natok’s Darpane Sharatshashi . Daily outdoor cultural programmes featuring street theatre, recitation, music, and dance are also being held alongside the festival.