Invisible Stories: Where Dhaka traffic meets the supernatural

Before the gates of La Galerie at Alliance Française de Dhaka opened, Laurie Cannac, was pacing around impatiently and remarked with quiet anticipation, "I'm waiting for my scientist." It didn't take long for the 40 odd gathered to realise that the French director was already in character.

Moments later, performer Diana Meriline burst through the crowd with an electric and contagious energy, thanking them for coming to her 'Ghost Conference'. As the growing audience settled into their seats, it finally dawned on me that just like Laurie, Diana had been in character long before the doors had opened. 

Diana flowed effortlessly through the gathering, greeting attendees as if they were old friends, and thanking them with earnest enthusiasm for attending her "Ghost Conference." It was impossible to tell where the character ended and Diana began. On stage or off, she truly was a scientist.

As part of the 65th anniversary of Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, the organisation hosted a body puppet show titled, 'Invisible Stories' on 4-5 October. The production was directed by Laurie Cannac and performed by Diana Meriline and Farhad Ahmed.

Laurie Cannac is a solo puppeteer who has trained at the Théâtre-Ecole du Passage of Niels Arestrup and Alexandre del Perugia. She is also the founder of  the Graine de Vie theatre company. The artiste has performed in Dhaka before with the story 'Wolfed Down'.

The performers Diana Meriline and Farhad Ahmed have been part of 'Prachyanat Theatre' since 2018 and 2012 respectively.

'Invisible Stories' follows two scientists' at a ghost conference, who are on a mission to prove that the cause of Dhaka's traffic is the supernatural, which acts as an invisible obstacle on roads. 

Soon after they begin the demonstration, they are whisked away to Sundarban, facing one ghost after another. 

The story itself was inspired by Bangla horror stories, featuring ghosts such as Mecho Bhoot (ghosts with insatiable love for fish), 'Shakchunni'(vengeful female spirit), and more. 

The stage was very cleverly divided into several sections, allowing the performers to change their costumes and bring in props without breaking the flow of the story. 

When I first heard that the story would be directed by Laurie Cannac, I knew the audience would be in for a ride. After all, the puppeteer worked like a magician on stage with her performance of 'Wolfed Down' at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. 

Her style was visible with the interactive nature of the performance and life-like masks. Yet, the performers were able to leave their mark with their outstanding execution of the story. 

The distance from the stage while watching Cannac perform left me in awe. On the other hand, sitting in the front row while watching Diana and Farhad perform, I gained a newfound respect for their craft, watching them shift between props and costumes before my eyes. 

In one of the scenes the pair gets lost after their scientific demonstration of ghosts. An explosion of water behind them projects both Diana and Farhad forward. They used a blue cloth as a prop for the water. Although it is hard to connect a solid fabric to a liquid, the whole team somehow made it work. 

Despite the challenges of solid props and limited space, when the pair eventually fell into the water, their body language alone was enough to clearly convey the action. Pairing that with the sound effects, it was enough to fully immerse the crowd.

The show held a good balance between fun, humour and an impactful message. The story is tied in concepts of war and the destruction of nature. 

As Farhad is submerged in the water, the water itself comes to life, angered at the way people have treated it, and claiming it would take revenge. 

Even though puppeteer Laurie Cannac's distinctive style was present in the interactive nature of the show and the life-like masks, the performers also left their mark with their outstanding execution of the story

In another scene, the audience came together as Farhad carried the puppet of a child on his shoulders. The child began to chant, " Earth is my home too!"—and the whole room joined, echoing the same words. 

The only criticism I could share would be about the limitations of the venue. On the first day of the show, the crowd stretched all the way to the cafe area, with a few people leaving mid-way as they could not properly see or hear the performers. 

However, by the second day, the organisers decided against letting the crowd flow out of the gallery. Even though less people were allowed inside, it was clear that the whole audience inside the gallery were able to properly experience the show.