An eight-day theatre festival, organised by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy’s Department of Drama and Film, begins today at the Experimental Theatre Hall of the National Theatre Auditorium in the capital.

The festival titled ‘Natun Natoker Utshab,’ comprises eight theatre productions that premiered in 2025 and 2026, with four productions originating from Dinajpur, Bandarban, Sylhet, and Jessore.

Tickets for the festival are priced at Tk 100, while daily musical performances by theatre troupes will be open to the public for free at the venue, organisers announced at a press conference on Thursday.

The press conference was held at the seminar room of the National Theatre Auditorium, where the director of the department, Deepak Kumar Goswami, shared the festival details, and the academy’s director general, Sheikh Rezauddin Ahmed Stalin, spoke at the event.

Deepak said that as a part of the festival, a special workshop for emerging theatre directors will be held at the venue.

Rezauddin stated that the Shilpakala Academy wants to encourage and motivate theatre groups because the art form, which was immensely popular in the 1970s and 80s, is largely stagnant now.

‘Without freedom of expression, artistic practice diminishes, but we want the audience to come, watch the plays, and criticise them,’ he said.

The festival will be inaugurated by the minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, Ms. Afroza Khanam Rita  as the chief guest, while the prime minister’s adviser on Information and Broadcasting, Culture, and Policy and Strategy, Zahed Ur Rahman, will be present as the special guest.

The vice chancellor of Thakurgaon University, professor Israfil Shaheen, will speak as the keynote speaker, while the joint convener of the Jatiotabadi Samajik Sangskritik Sangstha, engineer Zakir Hossain, will attend as the guest of honour. The secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Ms. Kaniz Maula, will preside over the event.

‘Chorer Naam Charandas,’ presented by Dinajpur Natya Samity and directed by Nayan Bartel, will be performed on the opening day.