An Afternoon at the Theatre: Arsenic and Old Lace
On 28 August, my husband Mahbub Ashrafi and I spent a lovely afternoon enjoying live theatre in the heart of Dhaka. We attended the 3:00 PM performance of Arsenic and Old Lace, presented by Open Space Theatre at the Dr. Nilima Ibrahim Auditorium of Bangladesh Mahila Samity, Bailey Road.
Walking into the auditorium already gave the afternoon a distinctive cultural atmosphere. The exposed brick walls, simple architectural details, stairways filled with natural light and the familiar surroundings of Bailey Road created a fitting beginning to our theatre outing. There is something special about entering a theatre before a performance: the quiet anticipation, people gathering outside and the feeling that, for the next couple of hours, everyday life will be replaced by another world.
Once the curtain opened, that world came alive beautifully. The stage was transformed into an old-fashioned drawing room, complete with a grand sofa, dining table, framed artwork, warm lamps, doors and windows. One particularly striking feature was the large portrait hanging prominently above the set, giving the room a wonderfully eccentric and slightly unsettling character.
Arsenic and Old Lace is a dark comedy, and the production captured that unusual combination of humour, absurdity and sinister circumstances very well. The story moves between seemingly ordinary domestic life and increasingly bizarre situations, creating moments that are both weird and genuinely funny. The energetic performances, comic timing, costumes and constant movement of characters kept the stage lively throughout the show.
I particularly enjoyed how the production used the contrast between the cosy-looking household and the increasingly chaotic events unfolding inside it. At different moments, the lighting changed the entire mood of the stage from warm and almost welcoming to deep blue and mysterious making the set feel like a character of its own.
The final moments, when the cast gathered together on stage, were a wonderful reminder of how much teamwork goes into a live production. Seeing all the performers together after following their characters through such an eccentric story made the applause feel especially satisfying.
After the performance, Mahbub and I continued our afternoon together, enjoying some food and taking a few photographs. Those little moments before and after the play became part of the memory too: the auditorium, the streets outside, the greenery, our lunch and simply spending the day together.
It was an enjoyable experience watching Open Space Theatre perform Arsenic and Old Lace. Funny, strange, theatrical and delightfully dark, the play made our 28 August afternoon at Bangladesh Mahila Samity a memorable one.
A little theatre, a little laughter, good food and an afternoon spent together sometimes these are the days that become the nicest memories.
