A review on Pakistani suspense theatre play, Raat (2016). It was performed in Punjabi language.
+ Crew
- Directed by Shumaila Taj
- Sound Designed by Alooha
+ Note
Shumaila Taj is a graduate student of NAPA while done Master’s degree in English literature from Bahauddin Zakariya University (Multan). She has acted in various plays like Nakal Makani and Dheeti Deevaaren.
+ Full Cast
1) Akbar Islam as Chacha Karam Deen
2) Farhan Alam as Chaudhry Sher Ali
3) Aqeel Ahmed as Jhalla
4) Amir Naqvi as Bhoot
5) Naveed Kamal as Bala
6) Muhammad Ahsan Ali as Ramju
7) Arthur John as Ashqoo
8) Samhan Ghazi as Patwari Mansha
9) Rahi Siddiqui as Muharar Ghulam Hussain
10) Adnan Anis as Police Wala
+ Plot
One night a 13 year old girl, Sakina who runs away from her home as her family has accepted marriage proposal from the aged landlord of the village. Everyone try to search for her along the river in the dark that same night.
+ High Points
i – Great performance by Amir Naqvi as Bhoot. He looked frightening and yet comic in his own way. This is the first time I saw a character of Bhoot on stage who is scared of humans. Personally I liked his performance and appearance as Bhoot a lot. Good work Aamir!
ii – Aqeel Ahmed as Jhalla played the lead role nicely. His character was written as simple and lovable. Other Honorable Mentions: Akbar Islam and Naveed Kamal.
iii – The effective screenplay helped the play to flourish with ease of success.
iv – The set design and lighting were handled brightly.
v – The ending was very moving.
+ Low Points
i – I would love to see this play in Urdu language with the same team.
ii – I feel that the play was too short regarding the content is concerned. Since the play was interesting and performances were well put so its time span was rather small.
iii – Due to its short time length, we were unable to meet further new characters or few more interesting scenes, especially of the Bhoot.
+ Overall
Raat is a tense and entertaining theatrical experience that should keep audience guessing until the very end.
Rate: 3.75 out of 5 stars
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