Jon Fosse’s Susanna staged in Bangladesh for first time

Norwegian playwright and 2023 Nobel laureate in literature Jon Fosse’s play Susanna has been staged in Bangladesh for the first time. The play premiered on Wednesday (September 30) at the auditorium of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) as part of the Henrik Ibsen-Jon Fosse Festival 2026 Bangladesh.

The play was translated into Bengali jointly by Subah Binte Ahsan and Professor Dr Ahmed Ahsanuzzaman of IUB’s Department of English and Modern Languages. Professor Ahsanuzzaman also directed the production, which featured IUB students.

The second performance of Susanna will be held at 6:30pm on October 3 at the Studio Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. IUB organised the Henrik Ibsen-Jon Fosse Festival 2026 Bangladesh on September 30 with support from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Dhaka. The festival focused on the lives and literary works of two prominent Norwegian writers, Henrik Ibsen and Jon Fosse, and brought together teachers, students, writers, theatre practitioners and members of the literary community.

Norwegian Ambassador to Bangladesh Haakon Arald Gulbrandsen attended the festival as a guest, while Professor Fakrul Alam delivered the keynote paper. An academic panel discussion on the literary works of Ibsen and Fosse was also held, with IUB Vice-Chancellor Professor M Tamim among the speakers.

Professor Raziya Sultana Khan and Professor Sarker Hasan Al Zayed of IUB’s Department of English and Modern Languages, along with Professor Sabiha Haq of BRAC University’s Department of English and Humanities, also took part in the discussion.

Professor Bakhtiar Ahmed, dean of IUB’s School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, delivered the vote of thanks.

As part of the festival, prizes were also distributed among the winners of a national essay competition titled “Henrik Ibsen in the Broader Context of Democracy”. A total of 316 students from colleges and universities across Bangladesh participated in the competition.