CNG Past Productions
The History of Our Shows
Chicago Natyagoshthi, aka CNG, is a not-for-profit organization of like minded people in the Chicagoland area who are passionate about theater. CNG is not a community organization. Rather, it is an amateur theater club a group of theater enthusiasts where the collective interest of theater loving individuals is paramount.
In 2017 a few people were invited to stage a play at the inauguration year of Spotlight drama festival in Ann Arbor. They were required to call their drama team with a name to submit that proposal. They casually came up with the name Chicago NatyoGoshthi (CNG). They went to Ann Arbor and performed "Ekti Obastob Golpo". The play got rave reviews and appreciation from all because of its unique and encaptivating presentation of a much enacted storyline.
The Detroit Bengali association then invited the group to perform "Shrimati Bhoyonkori" at one of their functions while they were practicing to stage that for BAGC Durga Puja. Although half prepared, the team put up a decent show. And then bettered it on BAGC stage.
Then came the production of "Nishobdo Bonhi". Once again a not-fully-prepared show had to be hastily taken to Spotlight 2018 in Ann Arbor, but it captured hearts and minds. The performance was raised to a different level of class during BAGC Durga Puja in 2018. People talk about that mesmerizing performance even today. The story is about a journalist's journey towards finding the truth about a robbery and murder in a remote Indian village, ruled by the powerful bhhomihar who is considered the benevolent God by all his subjects.
CNG staged the "Durghatona" play in an informal setting at Banga Bhavan on Bhasha Dibas ceremony in 2019. Another major production in 2019 was "Brishtir Chhayacchobi" written by well known playwright Manoj Mitra. CNG's rendition was not an exact replica of the published play. CNG modified some parts of the dialogues, plot and ending, to make it apt and attractive for the production and audience. The story revolves around Chandana, an aspiring an ambitious actress, whose life turns upside down in the span of one evening when she is confronted by a stranger claiming to be her husband.
Our Past Productions
Ekti Obastob Golpo (একটি অবাস্তব গল্প)
Performances:
-
June 2018 - Spotlight theater festival, Ann Arbor, MI
Direction:
Dev Hazra
Cast:
Amartya RoyChoudhury
Biswajit Mukherjee
Deep Bandopadhyay
Dev Hazra
Pradeepta Bhattacharya
Pratik Chakraborty
Shouvik Dutta
Synopsis:
Ekti Obastob Golpo written by Bimal Bandopadhyay, is a powerful, humorous comedy with a dramatic twist at the end, giving a poignant social message.
As the drama starts, the Sutradhar asks the audience for their opinion on capital punishment and invites them to witness a real hanging. The jailer and officials feed the convict his last meal, the priest conducts the last rites, and what follows is a dramatic audio-visual display of the hanging at the gallows. However, at the end of the hanging, the jail officials discover that ‘Ka Mandal’, the convict, has actually survived. With a lot of effort they restore his consciousness, only to find that he is suffering from total amnesia. In a
desperate effort to revive his memory (in order to hang him again!) the jail officials and the priest re-enact the incident of how ‘Ka Mandal’ strangled and killed his wife five years ago.
The play within a play is extremely comical but at the end when ‘Ka Mandal’ does recall the murder of his wife, he has a different story to tell. The play will keep the audience riveted to their seats from the opening scene, regale them with laughter but make them go away with wistful eyes, pensive about the hypocritical society where the weak and innocent suffer injustice.
Nishobdo Bonhi (নিঃশব্দ বহ্নি)
Performances:
-
June 2018 - Spotlight theater festival, Ann Arbor, MI
-
September 2018 - BAGC Durga puja, Chicago, IL
Direction:
Dev Hazra
Pratik Chakraborty
Cast:
Abhishek Roy
Amartya RoyChoudhury
Dev Hazra
Jaya Maitra
Pratik Chakraborty / Atish Banerjee
Shouvik Dutta
Sushmit Basu
Swarvanu Sanyal
Synopsis:
Something is just not quite right in the village of Kamalapur. Inhabited by low caste (Harijan) villagers, the area is ruled by an apparently well loved and respected landlord. The villagers seem happy, content and devoted to their landlord. But is this peaceful, pristine social system for real? Or is it simply a superficial veil hiding some grotesque truth? That is what an investigative journalist wishes to find out. But his quest for the truth is not going to be easy. The journalist himself is becoming the outcast - "the enemy of the people". The play is a nail biting drama of the journalist's journey - against all odds, against the powerful landlord and his cronies, against the villagers, against the "system". The drama demonstrates the ugliness and irony of the caste system aided by the hypocrisy of law enforcement. The characterization of the seemingly happy Harijans is poignant. Insulted, oppressed and cheated, only hunger and poverty have kept their anger and insurgent spirit dormant. From the first scene, the play's enactment will keep spectators at the edge of their seats, making them go through the various emotions of pity, anger, sorrow, silliness, love, fear and hatred. Till the final act, when events unfold at a lightning fast pace, with a twist at the end that will keep the audience awed even after the curtains are drawn.
Durghatona (দূর্ঘটনা)
Performances:
-
May 2019 - BAGC Bhasha Dibas event, Chicago, IL
Direction:
Dev Hazra
Cast:
Dev Hazra
Pratik Chakraborty
Synopsis:
Brishtir Chhayachhobi (বৃষ্টির ছায়াছবি)
Performances:
-
August 2019 - BAGC fund raising event, Chicago, IL
Direction:
Dev Hazra
Cast:
Jaya Maitra
Pinaki Guha
Poulomi Guha
Pratik Chakraborty
Sushmit Basu
Synopsis:
On a rainy evening, an aspiring actress suddenly finds herself confronted by a man who claims to be her husband. What starts off as a prank filled role play, eventually turns into a serious life and death situation. Her life, career and future dreams change completely within a few hours of that evening.
Who is this man? Is he crazy? Or simply acting so? What are his intentions? Does he have incidents from the past that haunt him? Or maybe haunt both of them?
The play will keep the audience thrilled and guessing till the very last dialogue of the play.
Nihoto Songlap (নিহত সংলাপ)
Performances:
-
November, 2022 - Colure 2022
Direction:
Sarmistha Banerjee
Cast:
Alok Bhattacharya
Biswarup Bhattacharya
Madhuban Mukherjee
Payel Maitra
Pradeepta Bhattacharya
Pratik Chakraborty
Ramdas Thatte
Satya Ghoshal
Sushmit Basu
Synopsis:
An enthralling play that combines deep sensibilities - arrogance, remorse, greed, exploitation, love and all the varied elements of human nature. A story that makes you feel as if you yourself are on stage enacting the different facets of the human character. Interspersed with satirical comedy, the drama takes you to the despairing lows of human behavior, only to provide you the shining path towards redemption and eternal beauty.
Dujon Manush (দুজন মানুষ)
Performances:
-
November, 2022 - Colure 2022
Direction:
Dev Hazra
Cast:
Dev Hazra
Satarupa Nandi
Tritiyo Nayan (তৃতীয় নয়ন)
Performances:
-
October, 2021 - BAGC Durga Puja
-
August, 2023 - Atlanta Theater Festival
Direction:
Dev Hazra
Cast:
Abhijit Choudhury
Deep Bandyopadhyay / Bikash Dhali
Dev Hazra
Pradeepta Bhattacharya
Pratik Chakraborty
Sushmit Basu
Synopsis:
What is justice? Is it simply a verdict by the court constrained by the boundaries of the law? Or is it the ruthless search for the truth aided by the deep probing “third eye”? This is the conundrum that manifests itself in its gory details in the enactment of - Tritiyo Noyon - by Chicago NatyoGoshthi. The ebb and flow of logic, emotion, vindictiveness and veiled nuances are rendered through edge-of-the-seat excitement in this play. What transpires in the drama reaches an unexpected crescendo highlighting the third eye’s truth seeking dominance over the limitations of man-made legal system.
Gopon Satya (গোপন সত্য)
Performances:
-
October, 2023 - BAGC Durga Puja
Direction:
Dev Hazra
Cast:
Debapriyo Bagchi
Dev Hazra
Dwaipayan Mukherjee
Lina Chakraborty
Souvik Kar
Sushmit Basu
Synopsis:
A couple's peaceful life gets turned upside down when a stranger visits their house late at night with a bizarre story. The story of love, hate and betrayal; that culminates into a gruesome death. The woman in the center of it all learns about a hidden truth that shakes the core of her belief. A thriller that unfolds in the front of your eyes, and that will keep you at the edge of your seat.