Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) has recently hosted the first show of the puppet theatre titled “Invisible Stories” by a duo of Bangladeshi artists, Diana Meriline and Md Farhad Ahmed, under French puppeteer Laurie Cannac’s direction of her very own creation.

The maiden edition of this special theatre production was staged on October 4 and 5 at La Galerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka, in Dhanmondi.

The story follows two scientists, studying the impact of ghosts on everyday life in Dhaka. Their subject begins to master them and throws them on a fantastic trip that leads them to meet the wilderness and wisdom of the Sundarbans.

This multidisciplinary production draws from diverse oral traditions that encompass all religious communities, ghost stories, and other supernatural elements to create an incredible story that is brought to life by a team of versatile actors-dancers-singers.

Laurie Cannac is a solo puppeteer, both classically trained at the Théâtre-Ecole du Passage of Niels Arestrup and Alexandre del Perugia, refining her trade as a puppeteer on the street for direct contact with the public. In 1997, she founded the Graine de Vie theatre company which offers a very physical puppet theatre full of energy, emotions, and surprises.

Diana Meriline was a student of Prachyanat School of Acting and Design and has been actively working with Prachyanat Theater since 2018. Md Farhad Ahmed is a versatile dancer, choreographer, theatre artist, and puppeteer who has been working with Prachyanat Theater since 2012 and Jolputul Puppets since 2014.

This event was an addition to the 65th-anniversary festivities of Alliance Française de Dhaka, the esteemed French cultural organization in Bangladesh.