‘In the Solitude of Cotton Fields’ to be staged Shilpakala Academy

In the Solitude of Cotton Fields, a theatrical performance by Sermadiras and Souleymane Sanogo, will be staged at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy at 7:00pm today.

In the Solitude of Cotton Fields is performed in one act without intermission. The two main characters of this play, the Client and the Dealer, are unnamed. The author’s instructions do not mention the location and time of day. The exchanges between the two characters are crafted to avoid specifics and the audience remains unaware of the subject of their negotiations, though it is clear that the stakes are high.

They appear to encounter one another by chance when the Dealer approaches the Client with an offer: “Tell me what you want that I can supply, and I will supply it.” In the exchanges that follow, they at times remain argumentative, even threatening, and often deliver lengthy monologues to one another.

Jean-Paul Sermadiras earned a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Paris. He received training at Blanche Salant’s International Workshop. In 1995, he founded the Compagnie du PasSage. He performed at the Avignon Festival on several occasions. On stage, he appeared in over forty plays by Molière, Shakespeare, and Chekhov all throughout France as well as Morocco and India, among other places.