Entertainment Desk:

Tamalika Karmakar and Sayeed Babu are set to perform under the direction of Zannatul Tumpa for the first time. Suchona Theatre’s widely acclaimed play Omanush will be staged on October 4 at the Lee Center in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. Written by eminent theatre personality Mamunur Rashid, this will be the play’s fourth performance.

In its previous three shows- two in New Jersey and one in New York- the roles were played by Mitali Das and Hira Chowdhury. This time, Tamalika and Sayeed bring fresh life to those characters.

At the heart of Omanush is an idealistic teacher who dreams of building an educated and humane society. But corruption, irregularities and social pressure gradually make that dream impossible. Broken by despair, he eventually loses his mental balance and edges toward a drastic decision. His wife, meanwhile, tries to make him understand that true strength lies not in abandoning dreams, but in holding on to them.

The play ultimately leaves the audience with a question: are we truly human, or are we slowly becoming omanush- inhuman- under the weight of society?

Notably, Omanush marked Zannatul Tumpa’s debut as a stage director. Although she has been involved in theatre production for nearly two decades, she had no plans to direct; she took on the role at the request of playwright Mamunur Rashid. The play’s journey began on June 14 with two shows at the 21st annual South Asian Theatre Festival in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The festival was organised by EPIC (Empowering People Inspiring Community) and co-hosted by coLAB Arts. The third performance was later held in New York.