The vigorous trade by the local people led to the rise of some urban areas which were home to the art and cultural centre of ancient Bangladesh.
According to the Kashmiri poet Kalhana, there was a great theatre dancer named Kamala in the ancient kingdom of Pundravardhana, now a part of northern Bangladesh.
It includes any one or more of the following elements: (i) dance, (ii) instrumental music and (iii) speech rendered in prose, verse or lyric, either in the form of narration or that of dialogue.
The folk theatre of Bangladesh has developed in distinct forms, which can be loosely categorised into (i) the Narrative, (ii) the Song-and-Dance, (iii) the Processional, and (iv) the Supra-personae.
[6] The masked dance of the Gombhira festival was originally an ancient shamanist or spirit cult performance of the Koch community.
Mukunda Chakravarti's Chandimangal (1555–56) and Krishnadasa Kaviraja's Chaitanya Charitamrita (c 1560–80) definitely point to the existence of puppet theatre during this period.
Judging by the popularity of cults and the existing tradition among current performers, it could be safely assumed that these were related to Krishna, Rama, Manasa, Chandi and Chaitanya.
[10] Processional performances are characterised by the use of tableaux, music, song and dance, all of which form a part of large processions (jatra) attended by adherents of a particular religious faith.
[11] Political and economic measures undertaken by the English colonisers from 1757 onwards led to the Bengali Renaissance in the early 19th century, which affected all aspects of intellectual pursuits in Bangladesh.
The indigenous theatre, which in most cases remained a part of the rural culture, has failed to meet the demands of the 21st century life in Bangladesh and a process of fossilisation has already set in.
Inception of the European theatre in Bangladesh or erstwhile East Bengal took place in 1855 with a performance of Svarna Sharnkhal by Durgadas Kar at Barisal.
It sought to glorify Islamic history through historical plays on Muslim rulers of the Middle East, India and Bengal, and the independence struggle of Pakistan.
He wrote, published, directed, enacted, broadcast and staged the earliest couple of plays which were secular, non-communal, progressive and international in their themes and plots.
Some other important playwrights who followed Natyaguru Nurul Momen in this trend include Shawkat Osman, Askar Ibne Shaikh, Jasimuddin and Munier Chowdhury.
A completely new set of playwrights appeared, important among whom were Abdullah al Mamun, Mamunur Rashid, Syed Shamsul Huq, Selim Al Deen, Mumtazuddin Ahmed, Rabiul Alam, S M Solaiman, Abdullahel Mahmud, Mannan Heera, Malay Bhowmick, Azad Abul Kalam and Saymon Zakaria.
The first-ever Bangladesh International Theatre Festival was held at Dhaka’s Shilpakala Academy in June 2019, featuring a host of local works, along with plays from six other countries.
At present, many NGOs use theatre as a forceful medium to create awareness for many social issues in the rural areas of Bangladesh.