Venue: Selim Al Deen Muktamanch
Town: Savar Upazila, BD

Selim Al Deen Muktamanch (commonly known as Muktamanch) is an open air theatre at Jahangirnagar University in Savar, Bangladesh. It is located on the slope of a mound to the east of the university's Student-Teacher Center. It is the first open-air theatre in South Asia to be built in the style of an Ancient Greece theatre. It was long referred to simply as "Mukt Manch", after which it was officially named posthumously in honor of its master planner, Selim Al Deen. Muktamanch opened in 1980 with a production of the play Shakuntala. To accommodate both the academic needs of the Department of Drama and Dramatics at Jahangirnagar University and the theatrical culture emerging on campus, a plan was conceived to establish a purpose-built, professional-grade stage. The initiative for the construction was spearheaded by Selim Al Deen, the founding chairperson of the Department of Drama and Dramatics. In addition, several prominent figures, such as Mustafa Monwar, Nasir Uddin Yusuf Bachchu, and Zillur Rahman Siddiqui, contributed to the planning and development of the theatre. The architectural design of the theatre was entrusted to filmmaker and architect Alamgir Kabir. The design and site selection for the stage were heavily influenced by the topographical resemblance between Jahangirnagar's landscape and the rugged terrains of ancient Greece. The vision was the creation of a performance space modeled after the open-air theatres of ancient Greece. Such theatres were typically built by carving into uneven valleys, creating a sloped area where the main stage, or orchestra, was positioned, and spectator seating was arranged along the natural incline of the surrounding hills. Similarly, the open stage at Jahangirnagar was constructed on lower ground with three open sides in front of the central stage, inspired by the design of the ancient Greek theatre at Epidaurus. The open-air stage at Jahangirnagar University is the first structure in Bangladesh-and indeed in Indian subcont