Evan Riaz

Evan Riaz is a Bangladeshi theatre director, actor, playwright, screenwriter, researcher, and cultural activist closely associated with the theatre collective BotTala. He has developed a multidisciplinary practice spanning theatre direction, performance, screenwriting, and applied theatre research.

He has been actively involved in socially engaged theatre, working on productions that address history, identity, environmental issues, and labour rights. As a performer, he has appeared in notable BotTala productions including Khona, The Trial of Mallam Ilya, Crutcher Colonel, and Bonyotherium.

He gained particular recognition for adapting Heshoram Hushiarer Diary into the stage production Bonyotherium, which premiered at the Dhaka Lit Fest. The production combined satire, imagination, and environmental themes in a visually engaging theatrical form.

As a director, he has worked with BotTala Actors Studio and other creative platforms, directing experimental and narrative-driven works such as Sampurna Kalpanik, based on Bimal Bandopadhyay’s Ekti Abastab Galpa, reflecting his interest in psychological and conceptual theatre.

Beyond theatre, Evan Riaz has contributed as a screenwriter for television and independent productions, including the TV mini-series Bhooter Baksho (2018), Saat ti Tarar Timir (2015), and Nostalgia (2014).

His applied theatre and research work includes directing and contributing to the Theatre for Development production Paninama, a project focused on RMG worker water safety awareness under the REACH project, developed in collaboration with Coventry University and BAU (2019). This work highlights his engagement with community-based performance and social research through theatre.

In recognition of his contributions to theatre, he received the Ethic Tarunnya Sommanona 2022.

Through his combined work in theatre, screenwriting, and research-based performance, Evan Riaz continues to contribute to socially conscious and experimental performance practices in Bangladesh.