Popular theatre group Prachyanat concluded the second series of its new play Byatikrom O Niyom at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on Friday evening.

The production, translated from Bertolt Brecht’s The Exception and the Rule, has drawn strong audience interest, as the German playwright’s century-old critique of capitalism and injustice resonates with Bangladesh’s own social realities on justice, power, and inequality.

First written in 1930 as part of Brecht’s Lehrstücke or “learning plays,” the drama tells the story of a wealthy merchant travelling across the desert to secure an oil concession. Consumed by greed and fear, he mistreats his poor porter.

In a tragic climax, the merchant kills the porter while mistaking an offer of water for a life threat. A court later acquits the merchant, declaring his fear “reasonable,” a verdict Brecht uses to expose systemic injustice.

Byatikrom O Niyom has been translated by Shahidul Mamun and directed by Azad Abul Kalam. It was first performed in Dhaka earlier this July in association with the Cultural Affairs Ministry.

The translated plot centers on a merchant, Sindbad, a guide, and a coolie embarking on a journey to a place called “Baharasthan,” where the merchant hopes to find oil. Throughout the journey, suspicion and mistrust arise: the merchant first doubts the guide and then suspects the coolie, whom he mistreats severely.

When the merchant, running out of water, mistakes the coolie’s offering for a threat, he shoots him in fear. The court trial that follows favours the merchant, highlighting how legal power ultimately serves the interests of a particular class.

About the play, Director Azad Abul Kalam said, “This play is deeply political, with political messages at its core. Its themes resonate strongly today, reflecting the 2024 movement’s call for a society free from discrimination and where the rule of law prevails. This public aspiration is embodied in the play.”

Well-known actors Shatabdi Wadud and Shakhawat Hossain Rizvi, along with a group of emerging performers, acted in the production.

Cultural critics see parallels between Brecht’s themes and Bangladesh’s ongoing debates on workers’ rights, economic inequality, and the judiciary system.

“The image of the porter could easily be that of a garment worker or a day labourer in Dhaka,” one audience member said after the show.

“The law, too often, still protects the powerful, which is very similar to the justice systems of our country,” the audience added.

As the curtain falls, Brecht’s message rings clear: the law often upholds the rule of the powerful, and questioning that rule is the only way to expose the exceptions. The play concludes with pressing questions: Who is the law for? What do we mean by justice? Who truly benefits from it?