A review on Pakistani Comic theatre play, ‘Jungle Mein Mangal Bazar’ (2019). This was the seventh & final play performed at NAPA’s 2nd Laughter Theatre Festival 2019.
+ Crew
- Costumes Design, Production Design & Directed by Syed Meesam Naqvi
- Written (Adapted) by Babar Jamal
- Lighting by Masood-ur-Rehman
- Stage Management by Rachna Kirpalani, Hasnain and Qasim
- Assistant Directed by Ubaid Iqbal
+ Note
Jungle Mein Mangal Bazar is an adaptation of ‘Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!’, originally written in Italian by Dario Fo. Regarded as Fo’s second best-known play internationally.
Since 1990, this play had been performed in 35 countries. Though written as a political statement about the life and times of Italy in the 1970s, its themes of unemployment, class division, and women’s role in society strike a relevant note in 1980s Britain.
NAPA stages a number of events throughout the year including plays, music concerts, and festivals.
+ Full Cast:
1) Shabana Hasan as Shehla
2) Kashif Hussain as Umair
3) Nazar Ul Hasan as Zameer Shah / Wakeel Shah / Taboot Wala / Abu
4) Kiran Siddiqui as Kiran
5) Mujtaba Rizvi as Daniyal
6) Aman as John Doe (Dead Body)
+ Plot
A hilarious and critically acclaimed political farce centers on direct action by housewives against inflationary supermarket prices and struggles of their husbands who face unemployment and political crisis.
+ High Points
i – Remarkable performance by Nazar Ul Hasan in multiple roles that he had to play. He was one of the main ingredients to why the play was really a comical one and should not been missed.
ii – Shabana Hasan as Shehla played one of the lead roles incredibly well. She is a fantastic actress who should never be taken lightly. Other Honorable Mentions: Rest of the cast.
iii – A good adaptation of the script. It is hilarious and able to pull the Live audience attention glued to the stage.
iv – The costumes were authentic with the characters’ background.
v – Once again, we were given chance to watch Meesam’s captivating direction. Almost 2-hours of play was very wisely utilized.
vi – The production design was divided it into two separate sets. It gave way for blocking of actors with enough space for them to roam around easily.
vii – The lighting is very smoothly handled. Especially the scenes of detective getting beaten down and the road side interaction.
+ Low Points
i – Some of the props did not seem appropriate or were missing in its production design such as the paintings on the wall, basic furniture, TV were not part of the set.
+ Overall
Driven by laughter madness, Jungle Mein Mangal Bazar is the roller coaster of comedies.
Rate: 4.25 out of 5 stars
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