Lear to be back at Minerva

KOLKATA: 'Raja Lear', the Bengali adaptation of Shakespeare's play, will not go off the stage at Minerva Theatre. The play, with Soumitra Chatterjee playing the lead, Bengali adaptation of Shakespeare's play, with veteran Soumitra Chatterjee playing the lead,
received a fresh lease of life following state education minister Bratya Basu's intervention.
The minister who is also It was announced by the minister, who also happens to be the chairman of the Minerva Repertory Theatre Trust, announced that a letter had been sent to the play's director Suman Mukhopadhyay asking him to carry on. Permission to stage the play at the government-owned auditorium had been withdrawn on the ground that it was not financially viable. It sparked off a furore and the decision was dubbed 'politically motivated' in certain quarters.
"I have asked Mukhopadhyay to carry on staging the play at Minerva. But the government is also interested in making productions financially viable. We must see if production costs can be curtailed and if 'King Lear' can be staged in a bigger auditorium with higher ticket prices. And, whether it would be profitable to stage 'King Lear' in a bigger auditorium with tickets priced higher.
I have sought Mukhopadhyay's opinion on this," said Basu.
The director, seemed happy with the decision.on the other hand, said he was happy with the decision but had nothing against moving to another hall either.
The director Suman Mukhopadhyay said, "I am yet to receive the letter. So, I have no idea what the authorities are planning to do.
So far as moving to another auditorium is concerned, we have already held two shows at Rabindra Sadan. I have got a sketchy account of the minister's version on TV. So I will wait for the letter.
I am not going to comment on the financial viability part till I receive the letter in hand." said Mukhopadhyay.
The cast for the play also includes Bimal Chakraborty, Biswajit Chakraborty, Sudipa Basu, Joyraj Bhattacharya, Senjuti Mukhopadhyay.
The Repertory Trust has asked Soumitra Chatterjee to direct a play for them. The veteran actor has reportedly agreed to it, his health permitting.