Play stopped midway fearing attack at Shilpakala: Syed Jamil Ahmed

A stage play titled "Nityapurana" by prominent theatre troupe Desh Natak was stopped midway at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka on Saturday evening, following protests by a group of people in front of the academy's gate.

The incident came under heavy criticism on social media.

Describing the incident at a virtual press briefing today, Shilpakala Academy Director General Syed Jamil Ahmed said the decision to stop the play midway was made to ensure the "safety of the audience."

The Shilpakala director general explained that given the circumstances, he feared that the academy itself might have come under attack.

"Recently, 22 branches of Shilpakala Academy across the country came under attack. That weighed on my mind. With the audience inside the hall, I thought, what if the protesters attack them? Considering the safety and security of the audience, we decided to halt the show midway," he said.

"I went inside and apologised to the audience," he added.

Eyewitnesses present at the time said at around 6pm yesterday, a group of people started protesting in front of the Shilpakala gates, labelling Desh Natak's member Ehshanul Aziz Babu "an accomplice of the Awami League."

Later, Jamil Ahmed went and calmed down the protestors, and the play started. But the protestors regrouped in front of the gate and started protesting again, attempting to break into the venue.

Narrating the incident, Jamil said, "I have explained to them that more than 200 members of Desh Natak actively participated in the July-August mass uprising. Some also sustained gunshot wounds.

"First they accepted [what I said] and the play resumed. But later they started protesting again … Some people climbed over the wall and entered the complex. When the gate was broken, we decided to stop the play altogether after talking to the members of Desh Natak."

The Shilpakala Academy also faced criticism for not seeking assistance from law enforcement during the recent incident. 

Regarding this, Jamil Ahmed explained, "We saw shooting very recently [referring to the July-August student protests]. We didn't want further repression. Among those protesting, two individuals had been shot during the July movement." 

When reporters asked why assistance was not requested from military personnel stationed inside the academy, he countered, "Would you stop them by force or through dialogue? Those who came here were already injured by gunfire and voiced their grievances. Was it right to pit the military against them? I felt this was not a situation for army intervention."

Jamil Ahmed mentioned that, toward the end, though a military officer and two army vehicles arrived at the scene, he did not want to place the military in direct confrontation with the public.

He also expressed his hope to build a "people-friendly Shilpakala Academy" based on the genuine efforts of the community, rather than relying on security from law enforcers.

Reflecting on the incident, Jamil said, "Yesterday, I lost a battle, not the main war."

Jamil Ahmed shared that, in the past month, several theatre groups, including some previously scrutinised, were permitted to perform without interference. He and his colleagues advocated for allowing these groups to stage their plays, trusting audiences to decide on their engagement. 

"They performed without any issues," he said, adding that there was also no objection to Desh Natok's Nityapurana. 

The discussions of netizens also focused on Ehshanul Aziz Babu, who on 17 October shared a post on Facebook, saying, "Come together to save the country. Let's chant Joy Bangla and confront these anti-Bangladesh, anti-independence razakars."

He attached an edited photo depicting some advisers and student coordinators wearing Jinnah caps, calling for "resisting these razakars." 

About this Jamil Ahmed said,  "The post was in poor taste. I told Babu as much. I told all of them not to make such posts on Facebook, but instead criticise the government through their plays." 

Meanwhile, the government condemned the incident at Shilpakala Academy and said there will be an investigation into the matter.

"We condemn this incident and hope that the BSA chief will investigate it and will let the government know what exactly happened there," said Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam while responding to a question at a media briefing at Foreign Service Academy.