Category: Theatre Plays

A review on Pakistani Epic War-Drama theatre play, Jadl-e-Azal (2019). This play was performed at NAPA International Theatre Festival 2019.

 

 

+ Crew

• Written (Adapted) & Directed by Masood ur Rehman
• Music Composed by Ahsan Bari
• Costume Designing by Ali Qazi & Rachna Kirplani
• Production Design by Anjum Ayaaz
• Produced by Black Box

 

 

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+ Dancers

• Rachna Kirplani
• Kiran Siddiqui
• Maha Hasan
• Abeera Pervaiz
• Noreen Mumtaz Gulwani

 

 
+ Note

Jadl-e-Azal is an adapted play from The Tragedy of Rostam & Sohrab, a 10^th century classic Persian epic Shahnameh which originally written by Firdausi. Respected Zain Ahmed is the creative head for this grand war-drama, performed at NAPA.

Other crew members include Bazelah Mustafa, Ubaid Iqbal, Syeda Maha Ali, Kiran Siddiqui, Mohsin Babar, SM Muntazir, Areeba A, Aisha Bakhtiyar, Husnain A, Rejja Sehla and Malik Farhan Aziz.

Previously, Masood-ur-Rehman has directed his debut play By Mistake which was performed in NAPA’s Young Director’s Festival 2017 and commercially performed at Arts Council of Pakistan.

 

 
+ Main Cast

1. Vaajdan Shah as Rustom
2. Raheel Siddiqui as Sohrab
3. Erum Bashir as Aasia
4. Syeda Maha Ali as Gurd Afreed
5. Samhan Ghazi as Raja
6. Zain-ul-Abideen as Jotshi
7. Naz as Lajwanti
8. Abeera Pervaiz as Amooli
9. Ejaz Khan as Kikaous
10. Zain Nazar as Behraam

 

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+ Supporting Cast

1. Aqeel Ahmed as Wazeer
2. Jahanzaib as Sawanth
3. Amir Naqvi as Senapati / Borha
4. Maha Hassan as Damini
5. N/A as Raqqasa
6. Danish Abro as Dehati / Godarz
7. Ansaar as Dehati
8. Rao Shahnawaz as Sardar#1 / Wazeeri
9. Ahad as Sardar#2
10. Wasay as Hajeer

 

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+ Minor Cast

1. Mahesh as Darbari#1
2. Essa Khan as Darbari#2
3. Hunaid as Darbari#3
4. Saud as Darbari#4
5. Ali Raza as Darbar#1
6. Usman Siddiqui as Seeta
7. Asfand as Homan
8. Waleed as Toos

 

 

 

+ Plot
Following the traces of his lost horse, the legendary warrior Rostam wanders into the kingdom of Samangan where he falls in love with and marries the princess, Aasia. They have a son, Sohrab who Rostam has never met – until the day they face each other in the battle.

 

+ High Points
i – Taking such an initial, bold step to come up with such grand, epic play, does need one, guts to do that. The hard work behind its making could be witnessed by the spectators by taking a good look at its long list of cast and crew members for making this play possible.

ii – Erum Bashir is a talented actress with great dance ability as one of her strengths. No theatre actress in Pakistan I have watched, who can outmatch her dancing skills in combination with her acting talent.

iii – A confident, senior actor, Vaajdan Shah plays the role of Rustom, a fearless warrior with honest heart. He was one of the best choices to play this part and performed it equally well.

iv – Raheel Siddiqui gives a energetic performance as the young blood warrior, Sohrab. Yet, he still has a long way to go and needs to climb more steps to be standing in the ranks of good actors. Other Honorable Mentions: Syeda Maha Ali and Samhan Ghazi.

v – The costumes were suitable as per the characters that the performers played.

 

 

 
+ Low Points

i – By conducting such a grand, epic play does not seal the label of ‘Achievement’. It merely establishes the fact for taking the ‘First Step’. Yes, we do want such plays to be performed more in quantity. However before this, learn from your mistakes and perfect this play before performing it at NAPA International Theatre Festival. I am sure, that the people who were directly involve with this play, already knew where Jadl-e-Azal stood before it was performed. It is suggested that such plays should be performed only when it is perfected / well established and recognized by the senior artists as to say leveling the play is of ‘High Quality’. If we still let such plays performed (without playing it at other smaller festivals/different occasions first) at NAPA International Theatre Festival, we are only decreasing the value and standard of this festival.

This would make, other theatre productions or outsiders think that perhaps ‘Low Quality / Student Level’ of plays can be performed in this festival too. I personally don’t believe that this is the right decision. By doing this, we would only devalue this festival’s image. First perfect the play, make it stronger and of higher quality, before running it in this festival. This suggestion goes for any other plays with similar issues as well.  

ii – A proper adaptation of this script is gravely needed. The original script is a melodrama, as the author of this was a poet. The dialogues of the characters’ should have ended with rhymes. If you don’t want to use that, then change it completely and make it clear that the adaptation is not based on its melodrama. There were major changes in its story, on who falls in love with.

iii – Let’s just say that if this play was to be directed by Zain Ahmed or Sunil Shankar, even for them this play would have been difficult to execute it as it should have been.

iv – This play’s time length was more than 135 minutes long. The main question is why there was no interval? How can anyone expect that the audience would remain sitting calmly in their seats? The mind was screaming to exit whereas the stomach was growling with hunger.

v – Its understandable that there were budget issues, due to which the visuals were used to transit it to different scenes rather than using different production design. Although, it is also understandable that no visuals can replace the need for proper constructive sets…

At first, the visuals looked good with still images, played in the background… at that time it also seemed a good idea. But after half an hour, the visuals started to look cheap, of bad taste replacement. The clever usage of projection design with the lighting would have been a much better option. It would have lit the mood of the play.

vi – I believe that having a narrator to progress this epic, war-drama story would have been a very wise decision indeed.

vii – The chemistry between Vaajdan and Erum was so dull and boring. It was almost a dead love story. If it was developed in detail, more romantic scenes were added and by establishing the emotional link between the characters and the audience, the result would have differed greatly.

viii – For such long and dry plays, having playback singer/s is a must! Otherwise, the audience would lose their concentration very quickly.

ix – Mandatory requirement of having music in different scenes and beats would have helped the play to gain further interest.

x – The placement of the lighting was poorly placed and handled. Most of the time, the performers’ faces were hidden (almost entirely) by the shadows. When the performance is being played, their faces, especially their eyes should be clearly shown for the LIVE audience.

xi – When you are already promoting this play heavily to the public and it is to be performed at the NAPA International Theatre Festival then why the fight choreography & stunts looked kids’ stuff? Why there was no an actual, professional fight choreographer hired to train the stunt men and actors? The fight sequences even in a comic play look more believable than this.

xii – Same goes for the dance choreography. Really, I have no words, on how to describe this. The dancing sequences by the performers should be same and timely fashioned. Some dancers were moving faster, some slower while some looking at their fellow performers to know what they should do. Honestly, I have seen much better dance performances at private ceremonies.

xiii – Watching such a long play… without interesting scenes, the play would definitely end up to be a drag. If I were not to write a review on this play, I would surely have walk out just after 30 – 40 minutes later.

xiv – This is the reason why I did not have any expectations. Any director with prior good experience of conducting such plays may have achieved such a difficult task.

xv – The fight scene which takes place between Sohrab and Rustom, instead of requesting for another sword duel, this fight should have been only one/merged… since begging for another fight by either of the side goes against their characteristics. Regardless what the original script says, the adaptation should have made these vital changes for the stage performance.

Even the sword duel between Raja and Rustom should have impressive one, even if it was short lived.

xvi – Sohrab’s love happened at first sight, (much quickly than Romeo & Juliet fell for each other) where he forgot about his mission, the war, everything… just desire to have Gurd Afreed for himself. All in a day’s work and by evening, Sohrab saw the real picture. Naturally, I am not literally saying that it happen within the time span of one day nor I have any issue regarding Sohrab’s blind love. But to fall in love for his rival who he just met at the battle field is shocking! It didn’t look believable; the audience wouldn’t buy it and they didn’t.

xvii – Where are Aasia’s dramatic scenes? Her majority of the scenes are full of dance sequences. Mind you that I am not criticizing her dance skill. But in this play, she is playing one of the important leading characters; more light should have been given to her, for her character’s depth.

xviii – Why there were insertions of visual presentations for? Perhaps the director wanted to show realistic surroundings where Rustom marries and then farewells his wife, Aasia. Okay, I agree that you came up with this idea ‘Out of the Box’, except… playing this on-stage with proper build-up good set design instead; props could have accomplished it better.

xix – A properly constructed sound design during fight sequences, Sohrab’s scenes in the desert, etc should be included.

xx – Are you telling me that Rustom came to the rival’s kingdom looking for his valuable lost horse but left the place with a princess instead? What happened to the horse?

xxi – As for the stage management, the falling of the curtains should take place whenever the set is changed. It is more appropriate, better presentable. And that the production team, should be wearing black uniform, which camouflages with dimly lit background instead of wearing casual clothes.

xxii – Kindly note that the design of the Persian army swords is wide, pointed and curved. The swords that were shown were straight and long; similar to the ones which the medieval Christians and crusaders had used.

 

 
+ Overall

Sad to say, that even after such hard efforts & preparation, talented Masood fails to achieve it by a huge margin. As drama and as theatre play, Jadl-e-Azal consists of vast number of flaws. It clearly lacks style both in visual and in action.

 
Rate: 1.0 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani Drama theatre play, Bari (2019). This play was performed at NAPA International Theatre Festival 2019.

 

 

+ Crew

• Costume Designing, Production Design, Written (Adapted) & Directed by Aqeel Ahmed
• Written (Original) by Shahid Nadeem
• Lighting by Daniyal Ashraf
• Produced by GA Productions

 

 
+ Note

Bari is conducted in Urdu / Punjabi language play. It is about gender violence and discrimination. It has a specific reference to its laws.

For new comers, I welcome them all to be part of theatre academy and pour their effort to be new faces for the plays to be performed.

This festival brings together performers from a diverse group of countries and as before NAPA have a number of collaborations between international and local artists.

 

 

+ Full Cast

1. Sehrish Qadir as Zahida (Past)
2. Tehrim Shafiq as Janaat
3. Nataliya Karanjia as Jamila
4. Aisha Bukhteyar as Mariam
5. Shumaila Taj as Zahida (Present) / Narrator
6. Hasnain Raza as Police Officer

 

 

 

+ Plot
Zahida is sentenced to the central jail for protesting against the military regime’s ban. There she meets three female prisoners in her cell who are imprisoned for different reasons.

 

 

 

+ High Points
i – A nicely directed play by Aqeel Ahmed. His choices of performers and how it needed to executed was well thought over. Good work!

ii – Amazing performance by Nataliya Karanjia as Jamila, playing a strong woman personality. Not only her story was tragic like the rest but also that her character was most difficult to portray. I congrats Nataliya for her praise worthy performance.

iii – This is the first performance I have watched of Aisha Bukhteyar who played the character as Mariam, the delusional woman. She has performed very realistic, as she understood her character well and knew exactly how to pull it off. Yes, I am eager to watch more of her performances. Other Honorable Mentions: Rest of the cast.

iv – Good effort behind the makeup and hair styling.

 

 

+ Low Points
i – I believe we could have a better option than Shumaila Taj as the narrator.

 
+ Overall

Bari is successful in terms of solid performances by uncommon actors.

 

 

Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Foreign Drama theatre play, Oh My Sweet Land (2019). This play was performed at NAPA International Theatre Festival 2019.

 

 

+ Crew

• Written & Directed by Amir Nizar Zuabi and Corinne Jaber
• Produced by Theatre de Vidy Lausanne and the Young Vic London

 
+ Note

Oh, My Sweet Land is a solo performance, Syria-Germany based play in the shape of storytelling. Lebanon, Jordan, Syria… all is left is refugee camps. Their distant memory of beautiful home is lost forever. Even though this is originally a French language play, which was later decided to perform in English language instead for our audience convenience.

NAPA thanks Goethe Institut for their continued support as well as the other consulates and embassies for helping them in making this festival possible.

 
+ Full Cast

1. Corinne Jaber as Woman

 

 

 

+ Plot
A woman is cooking Kebbe, a classical Syrian dish obsessively in her kitchen and trying to come to terms with what she saw during her trip to Jordan, Lebanon and Syria looking for her lost lover.

 

+ High Points
i – A great direction by the duo; conducting a solo performance play is always challenging, especially if it is based on storytelling.

ii – This play comes to a powerful end. A reminder to those who think that the worst outcome of any war is death but is clearly not!

iii – Splendid performance given by Corinne Jaber as Woman. Loved how she continues to actual cook Kebbe while facing the audience with her story.

iv – The production design including its props used were commendable.

v – Effective use of the lighting, manages to keep a strong focus on the subject matter.

 

 

+ Low Points
i – If you can watch a storytelling play with long monologues with a solo performance, then this play is for you.

ii – In mid phases, I couldn’t help myself but to fall asleep listening to great detail story with no action.

iii – I believe that this play should reduce 10 – 15 minutes of its time length.

iv – Playing music even for precise moments only was difficult to hear.

 
+ Overall

Oh, My Sweet Land is an emotionally storytelling drama, gradually it unfolds the war-ridden tragedy and its consequences.
Rate: 2.50 out of 5 stars

A review on Foreign Dance theatre play, Wahala [Slavery] (2019). This play was performed at NAPA International Theatre Festival 2019.

 

 

+ Crew

• Dance Choreography & Directed by Kapila Palihawadana
• Produced by nATANDA Dance Theatre

 

 
+ Note

Wahala (Slavery) is a Sri Lankan dance play. It depicts the suffering, pain and anguish felt by anyone who has experienced slavery of any form. Even though slavery is now illegal in all countries, but still it is prevalent in other forms and many are still subject to various forms of modern slavery. A song, Wade in the Water was played that represents associated with the struggle of slaves.

NAPA is proud to have this international theatre festival by collaborative work in the exchange of ideas that takes place.

 

 
+ Dance Performers

1. Malith Upendra
2. Dakshika Bandara
3. Kalani Sachithra
4. Senarath Nanyakkarae Lasantha Harsha Kumara Nanyakkara
5. Narmada Nikethani
6. Jeewaka Randeepa
7. Dumidu Hashan

 

 

 

+ Plot
Slavery has existed in one form to another, such as human trafficking, forced labor or marriage. Through the recorded human history, it is believed that slavery began before written history in many cultures.

 

 

+ High Points
i – Excellent combination of dance choreography & direction by Kapila Palihawadana. The hidden message behind the pointy sticks that kept increasing into one of the performers’ neck with the emotional subject is cleverly blend in with its artistic grace and relative deepness.

ii – The performers’ graceful dance and acting skills resulted in giving out an important message towards empathy and the value of freedom.

iii – It appears the costume designing is carefully chosen including the colors that were chosen for their dressing is well though over, relating with the moments of the play.

iv – The lighting was intelligently taken care of. It helped in creating the moods of the play.

 

 

+ Low Points
i – Emptiness of having the absence of music between the two songs during the performance breaks barrier with the reality.

 
+ Overall

You have to admire the way every aspect of Wahala (Slavery) works toward the emotional power.

 

Rate: 3.50 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani Crime-Investigation theatre play, Court Martial (2019). This play was performed at NAPA International Theatre Festival 2019.

 

 

+ Crew

• Directed by Zia Mohiuddin
• Written by Sudesh Deepak
• Costume Designing by Syeda Maha Ali
• Lighting by Masood-u-Rehman
• Produced by NAPA

 

 

+ Note

Court Martial takes place in an Indian army court room where it emerges during the trial scene is a highly gripping drama about the circumstances that led the soldier to commit the crime. The writer brilliantly exposes the manner in which a class-ridden society hides the truth to preserve the status quo.

I have previously watched this play, performed at FTC; Karachi a couple of years back where Stage Nomad Productions were behind its effort while one of the major roles of Col. Surat Singh was played by NAPA’s one of the best young actors… Farhan Alam.

NAPA hopes that the performances were enjoyable for the audience and critics during this International Theatre Festival. The support by them is essential for the efforts to enrich the cultural ecology of the nation.

 

 

+ Full Cast

1. Mazhar Suleman as Col. Surat Singh
2. Ubaid Iqbal as Salakar Judge
3. Ahad Taqueer as Judge #1
4. Samhan Ghazi as Judge #2
5. Gazain Abbas as Col. Rawat
6. Zain Ul Abedin Qureshi as Maj. Ajay Puri
7. Zohair Zubair as Cap. Bekash Roy
8. Faizan Chawla as Cap. Dr. Gupta
9. Malik Farhan Aziz as Captain B.D. Kapoor
10. Abdul Hafeez as Subadar Balawan Singh
11. Essa Khan as Ram Chandar
12. Asfand Yar as Guard #1
13. Ansar Mahar as Guard #2

 

 

 

+ Plot
It is about the trial of a young, upright Indian soldier who has shot dead his commanding officer.

 

 

+ High Points
i – A superb script, brings out the character’s emotional pain and merges with audience. They felt every ounce of pain as the characters did.

ii – Finally! I was able to watch a gripping directorial play by respected Zia Mohiuddin; able to bring the play closer to the script’s intense scenes.

iii – A praiseworthy performance Farhan Malik Aziz who played the role of Captain B.D. Kapoor, the antagonist of this play. For Farhan to play this part, it turned out to be a wise decision.

iv – A new comer, Zohair Zubair played the role of Cap. Bekash Roy, defending lawyer. The actor understood this role & the script’s demand well enough, before pulling it off.

v – Mazhar Suleman played the role of Col. Surat Singh, who gives a solid performance as an intelligent judge. Other Honorable Mentions: Rest of the cast.

vi – The costumes looked official and authentic to their characters.

vii – Good job behind the lighting; in timely fashion, the lights were focused and faded on the stars.

 

 

+ Low Points
i – Same issue with Zia Mohiuddin’s play… production design. Really, don’t think that this is important for any play?

 

 

+ Overall

Court Martial is a realistic thriller where its strong performances leaves behind a tremendous impact.

 

Rate: 4.0 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani Drama theatre play, Perahan (2019). This play was performed at NAPA International Theatre Festival 2019.

 

 

+ Crew

• Costume Designing, Production Designing, Written & Directed by Bazelah Mustafa
• Produced by Bee M Production

 

 
+ Note

Perahan is a sequel to the director’s previous play, Soch which was an acclaimed physical theatre production and was performed during the NAPA’s International Theatre Festival 2018.

Although, I wouldn’t call this play a direct sequel as the treatment of both plays were very different.

Bazelah Mustafa has worked in multiple theatre productions in Urdu, English and French across Pakistan and UK. She has also choreographed, directed movements and performed in several dance theatre productions.

 

 
+ Full Cast

1. Samhan Ghazi as Mr. Saboor
2. Shabana Hasan as Nanny
3. Kiran Siddiqui as Anna
4. Farhan Alam as Dr. Karim
5. Bazelah Mustafa as Saboor’s Friend
6. Ayesha Pervaiz as Biff
7. Sibtain Ali as Chip
8. Aamir Azbi as Kipper

 

 

 + Plot
After the tragic death of her mother, Anna is traumatize and emotionally vulnerable during the upbringing by her beloved father and dedicated nanny. To treat her mental illness, Dr. Karim is introduced in her life.

 

 
+ High Points

i – A nicely executed directorial play by Bazelah Mustafa. After this play and Soch, people wonder if she may be the next best choice for a director.

ii – Samhan Ghazi gives a very interesting performance as Saboor, a high class, concerned father. I am very pleased to see that he is making himself stronger as an actor and keep pushing himself to grab more appealing roles, which is healthy for any performer who is serious for his career.

iii – Time to time, Shabana Hasan keep reminding us as to why she is a terrific actress. Her character of low class, caring nanny made the character an interesting choice to play this role.

iv – The way Anna’s character was treated that is her lines in the start were intentionally inaudible. But in the third act, her character is able to speak clearly and act responsive was very professionally written and directed.

v – The actress, Kiran Siddiqui should be equally admired for her believable performance especially including Anna’s sudden alarming seizures. Other Honorable Mentions: Rest of the cast.

vi – The props and set design was effectively constructed. It gave enough space for the movement of the performers and to see two places activity simultaneously.

vii – The chemistry between Samhan Ghazi and Shabana Hassan was compelling to watch. Perhaps, we may be able to see them together again in other plays’ lead roles.

viii – I liked how the play comes to its end. No filmy ending was given, kept within the dimensions of reality.

ix – The script is interestingly written, in terms of dialogues and storytelling.

 

 

+ Low Points
i – Would anyone volunteer and tell me, whose character’s journey this play was based on? Anyone? We all thought it was Anna but that was not the case. We can come close by saying; it was her father, Saboor whose relationship with two different types of females was shown and shifted except… it was not his story either.

ii – Most of the scenes didn’t relate with the main plot. If Saboor’s love interest scenes were cut short or with the Nanny, it would have not made any difference excluding for the play’s time length was reduced.

iii – There were times where the actors were still performing but no light was focused on them or was too quickly switched off for the transition of the scenes.

iv – There was a musical sequence, that needed to be performed during the play. The audience did witness the dimming of the lights but nothing really happens apart from the music being played in almost pitch darkness for few minutes. Naturally, a technical issue was occurred behind this incident. But no one from the team gave any explanation on it for its absence.

v – A proper production design with its original look would have been praise worthy. The black color sets could have been used in the first two acts, while the original look set design is replaced in the third act to match the tone of the play.

 

 
+ Overall

Perahan is a beautifully acted play about value of relationships and human emotions understanding that has come to the light.

 

 

Rate: 3.75 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani Drama theatre play, Mureed-e-Shak (2019). This play was performed at NAPA International Theatre Festival 2019.

 

 

+ Crew

• Directed by Zia Mohiuddin
• Written (Adapted) by Agha Hasher
• Costume Designing by Uzma Sabeen & Syeda Maha Ali
• Production Design by Anjum Ayaz
• Produced by NAPA

 

 
+ Note

Mureed-e-Shak is an adapted play of The Winter’s Tale, originally written by William Shakespeare in 1623. It is a tale of romantic improbability.

Respected Zia Mohiuddin’s long career spans acting, directing, writing, broadcasting and a wide range of aesthetic disciplines. He has made many memorable stage appearances in London, NYC in classic and contemporary works.

 
+ Main Cast

1. Naveed Kamal as Sikandar Jaa
2. Fajr Sheikh as Husun Ara / Gulnar
3. Samhan Ghazi as Humayun
4. Safia Zahir Ali as Hameed Bano
5. Rahil Siddiqui as Feroz
6. Salman Ahmed as Koshish
7. M. Muntazir as Tufaan
8. Faizan Chawla as Wazeer
9. Shumaila Taj as Husna

 

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+ Supporting Cast

1. Ansar Mahar as Arz Beni
2. Zohair Zubair as Safeer
3. Asfand Yar as Dhroga
4. Abdul Hafeez as Pharu Singh
5. Ahad Taqueer as Pandit
6. Malik Farhan Aziz as Rama
7. Saim as Khursheed
8. Hussain Raza as Barati #1
9. Qasim Shah as Barati #2

 

 

 

+ Plot
The king, Sikandar Jaa believes that his queen has committed adultery with his friend, Humayun. He then casts off his wife with her newly born daughter to the wild to their doom.

 
+ High Points
i – A decent direction by respected Zia Mohiuddin. Although, I must confess that I am not a big fan of this play written by the legendary author. But this play had its moments to go with the flow.

ii – The costume designing were suitable, appropriate to the characters.

iii – Naveed Kamal gives a satisfying performance as suspicious king, Sikandar Jaa. His character had given him opportunity to show his good and bad side of nature. Other Honorable Mentions: Samhan Ghazi, Safia Zahir Ali and Abdul Hafeez.

iv – The play’s original humor was used wisely in its interpretation by the adaptation writer and director.

v – Good effort behind the makeup & hair styling. The performers seemed glamour on stage.

 

 
+ Low Points
i – Either the play was too long (according to the main plot) or too slow for me to fall asleep during the mid act.

ii – I am… disappointed to see a mediocre production design in this play. It was not in the standard of Zia Mohiuddin’s play.

iii – Although the play had many characters, only couple of them were interestingly adapted.

iv – There were some issues in handling the lighting.

 

 
+ Overall

Zia Mohiuddin’s Mureed-e-Shak is a better, if not a great adaptation of Shakespeare’s play. Yet, the cast’s ‘so-so’ performances, dull set design and snail’s pace storytelling would be best suggested to be left forgotten.

 
Rate: 2.25 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani Drama theatre play, ‘Twins Apart’ (2019). The Production House is Stage Nomad Productions. The Assistant Director & Sound Design is Rao Nauman Rahman while its Acting Director is Ishtiaq R. Omar.

 

+ Crew

• Written (Adapted) & Directed by Shah Sharahbeel
• Co-Written (Adapted) by Kulsoom Aftab
• Lighting by Syed M. Jamil
• Production Design by Tanveer Abbas
• Produced by Irfan Anwar, Hammad Ather Mehmood and Rao Rahman

 

 

+ Note

Twins Apart is a musical play originally written by Willy Russell as ‘Blood Brothers’ (1983). The story is a contemporary nature versus nurture plot, revolving around fraternal twins, who were separated at birth, one subsequently being raised in a wealthy family, the other in a poor family. The different environments take the twins to opposite ends of the social spectrum. This play was held at Arts Council Karachi on 16^th Feb 2019, media night. Ever since the show has started playing from 12^th Feb 2019, the lead star, Faraz Ali has fallen ill with ‘Dengue’ fever. But due to his compassion and commitment to this play, he has been performing at his best without making the audience realize of his grave illness.

 

Other crew members are, makeup & hair styling is done by Incia Kazvini, costumes design by Sumaira Sheikh, dance choreography by Shazi & Ghani, fight choreography by Muhammad Ashfaq while the music is composed by Haris. The dance choreographer Ghani aka Mohammad Abdul Ghani has also played the supporting role of Raju. The stunt of Rikshaw (vehicle) wheeling is done by its actual driver, Shahid. Songs such as ‘Bang, Bang’ is originally sung by Nancy Sinatra in 1966 and ‘Ye Dosti’ is a remake of ‘Why This Kolaveri Di’ sung by Venkatesh Prabhu aka Dhanush in 2012. This is the debut play of lead actress, Kanwal Khan.

 

Just before the start of the play, an unnecessary feud was erupted on a minor issue. It took almost half an hour to sort this out. This in-fame incident is important enough to mention here so that we as part of the management could avoid such mishaps in future. Unfortunately, it has been a very long part of Art Council’s history where they have never taken proper measures over the management’s issues. A simple sign of having front two rows as ‘Reserved’ is sufficient for anyone not to take those seats for themselves. The rules & regulations given at the back of the ticket just said reserved seats but didn’t mentioned which rows or seats to which they are exactly pointing out to. I hope that this is avoided next time by any play’s / organizer’s management. We all make mistakes but do learn from it. That is all.

 

I am not a fan of this play’s end. Though, it is almost the same written in its original version, Blood Brothers. But the original play theme was revolving around a superstition (“Shoes Upon the Table”). Therefore, it makes sense why the original writer chose this ending for. However, as for this play, it was solely up to the writer to decide. If he wanted, he could have changed it. But I guess, he must be satisfied with its original ending only.

 

 

+ Main Cast:

1. Faraz Ali as Mussa
2. Umer Naru as Essa
3. Kanwal Khan as Noorie
4. Ifrah Khalid as Mrs. Safiha
5. Faiza Mahmood as Mrs. Mariyum Qalabash
6. Rehan Nazim as Singer & Narrator #1 (Main) / Raavi / Dancer #1

 

 

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+ Supporting Cast

1. Mohammad Abdul Ghani as Raju
2. Hammad Ather Mehmood as Mr. Bilal Qalabash
3. Armoghan Bela as Hammad / Passerby #1 / Singing Organizer
4. Muslim Abbas as Prisoner / Tipu / Dancer #2
5. Aneesha Altaf as Nisha / Passerby #3 / Dancer #4
6. Summaiya Rehman as Noorie’s Mother/ Passerby #4

 

 

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+ Minor Cast

1. Ouwais Kidwai as Friend / Passerby #2 / Dancer #3
2. N/A as Narrator #2 (Beginning & Ending)
3. Aqib Yasbaig as Police Officer / Dancer #5
4. Gulv Merley as Police Officer / Dancer #6
5. Niaman Hassani as Police Officer / Dancer #7
6. Litle Wayne as Police Officer / Dancer #8

 

 

+ Plot

It revolves around twin boys (Mussa and Essa) who are separated at birth and brought up in completely different environments in the city.

 

 

+ High Points

i – I really do not know how to praise Faraz Ali. Any praises given to him would be considered short and incomplete. As an actor, he goes deep in his character to play the role through their eyes. He is awesome on every level of his acting craft. Honestly, I see Faraz as high contender to our industry whether it is theatre, TV or film. His terrific performance as Mussa have made many people to wonder, why they have never heard his name before? Why they have never seen him on mainstream projects? I (with many people), strongly believe that he should approach TV and film industry where he would be more appreciated and highlighted by the mass audience… not just in Pakistan but all over the globe. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you Faraz Ali as the ‘Shining Star’.

ii – As for Kanwal Khan’s performance for her role as Noorie, the word is ‘Wow’! It is difficult to believe that this is her debut play. For a girl of her talent, she can do wonders for upcoming projects.

iii – The very first performance I have watched of Umer Naru was his comic role for few episodes in the TV series, ‘Pyray Afzal’ (2013) as Mehtab. Here, he plays the second brother of rich lifestyle as Essa. Since his character was less demanding, Umer still able to do a convincing job as educated, cool minded brother from respectable background. Other than his acting skills, it has came as a surprise for many that he is an actual singer with a very good voice and wrote his own songs. Impressive, I must say. Other Honorable Mentions: Rest of the cast.

iv – Superb direction by respected Shah Sharahbeel. The love triangle chemistry, scenes swift changes during songs sequences and adulthood scenes were very well directed. This is my first play that I have watched of Shah Sharahbeel. And I can assure you that I am overwhelmed and eager to watch more of his upcoming directorial plays.

v – Rehan Nazim has done a wonderful job as the narrator. Not only he was instructed to face the audience for them to have the emotional link with the main characters present on-stage but make them feel the pain, the struggle that the characters were feeling through the effective handling of his narration.

vi – Although, the play was around 135 minutes long. But I can assure you that not even once did I glance over my wrist watch to see the time. The play was so interesting that it made the audience’s minds and hearts connected to it.

vii – The dance choreography in all the songs and by the professional dancers was excellent! A huge round of applause for the BTS team.

viii – It is very rare to see the usage of projection design as this play did. Some people may call it visual presentation also, though it differs from it. ‘Shehr-e-Afsoos’ (2018), directed by late Madeeha Gauhar is a good example who used this technique stunningly in her play.

ix – There were other performances such as by Ifrah Khalid who made a very bold and good choice for playing biological mother. She is young, energetic actress. If she wanted, Ifrah could had played the lead role as Noorie remarkably too. But I am still pleased to see that she is making right choices early in her career for her to grow up to become a strong performer.

‘Rehearsal’ (2018) was the play directed by Syed Meesam Naqvi where Faiza Mehmood played the lead role. Her performances in both the plays have been solid.

I am very happy to see that Mohammad Abdul Ghani has able to improvise his negative character to a much better and brighter result.

x – High kudos to the songs sung by Umer Naru on his guitar, concert scene and Rehan Nazim’s singing after giving narration in almost every major scene that he appeared to.

xi – The combined efforts by the makeup & hair styling team with costumes designers have able to pull this off by showing the passage of time from childhood days to adulthood.

xii – Even though the production design was not detailed with props but it was innovative to change its different locations’ set easily.

 

 

+ Low Points

i – Personally, I don’t agree with this play’s treatment. It gave a strong similarity to Bollywood style films. Most of the Pakistani films nowadays are not making films similar to their neighbor’s commercial films anymore. Same way, I believe that we can and should have our own signature move on it… even if it’s a musical play.

ii – There were times where this play was over-dramatic. The writer should tone down a little bit to give more realistic feel to it. A popular example from the film world can be given here of the Tokyo Story (1953) which was copied / remake into Bollywood film, Baghban (2003). Even though, both of these two films are very compelling and touching to watch. But there are many scenes that were changed to be over-dramatic in Baghban. The writer of Tokyo Story could have done the same very easily, but he didn’t. He chose not to. And this is one of the main reasons why this film is considered as one of the best and listed in the Criterion collection. Yes, I do understand that our mass audience go for more emotional, dramatic scenes. But it is suggested only not to follow the such paths as the writer of Baghban did. Keep it real, more realistic to the actual world.

iii – For a comic relief character, try coming up with creative characteristics, good punch lines and interesting backstory. Having a homosexual character for a comic role is a serious ‘No-No’. Armoghan Bela did his level best to do justice to the character given to him. Hence, it is not his fault.

iv – There were some writing issues, where the script was weak especially the first act, of childhood scenes.

v – Due to his commitment of being a producer, Hammad Mehmood plays a small role of Essa’s father. For him to be in any play, the audience wants to see Hammad perform in a much interesting and bigger character. Make no mistake, Hammad Mehmood is ‘The Star’ of Stage Nomad Productions.

vi – Minor issues regarding its lighting such as where the narrator is facing the audience and he is not given / delayed a spotlight for audience to see him clearly; as he is the center of focus for that moment.

 

 

+ Overall

Twins Apart happens to be a highly entertaining play which Stage Nomad Productions have ever produced!

 

Rate: 4.25 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani Comic theatre play, ‘Jungle Mein Mangal Bazar’ (2019). This was the seventh & final play performed at NAPA’s 2^nd 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

 

A review on Pakistani Comic theatre play, ‘Ghanchakar’ (2019). This was the sixth play performed at NAPA’s 2^nd Laughter Theatre Festival 2019.

 

+ Crew

• Costumes Design, Production Design & Directed by Syed Muhammad Jamil
• Written by Maqbool Ahmed
• Lighting by Masood-ur-Rehman

 

 

+ Note

Ghanchakar is a directorial debut by S.M. Jamil. This play is a farce of mistaken identities and small lies that balloon in to big confusions.

NAPA’s mission is to be an institution of excellence that provides quality education, rigorous training, and is a catalyst for creative expression in the performing arts.

 

 

+ Full Cast:

1) Hammad Siddiq as Faisal

2) Hassan Raza as Mansoor

3) Shabana Hasan as Komal

4) Fajr Sheikh as Tina M.

5) Farhan Alam as Mr. Irani

 

 

+ Plot

A couple of friends, a job is not what it seems, a wife and a beautiful model set up the confusion that must be resolved to retain the job, save the marriage and achieve a happy ending.

 

 

+ High Points

i – The screenplay is very well written. Most of the punch lines were original. The play’s tone is balanced by hitting on sex-based jokes without directly implicating on them and avoiding the use of vulgarity. The characters such as Mansoor and Tina M. are very wisely written. These roles were not your common, typical type ones where people might often see them in other plays.

ii – The directorial debut by S.M. Jamil, has surprised many people as they did not have anticipated for this play to be well directed. I am honestly speechless and look forward to his next directed plays.

iii – Though, we have talked about this twice already, for not having a homosexual character in a comic play. But Hassan Raza’s superb performance as Mansoor has made this case an exceptional one. How intelligently, he understands and plays the role to make it a memorable one. He is certainly walking on the path of success.

iv – Fajr Sheikh as Tina M. played the main supporting role terrifically. With every play, her roles as well as performances have been improving by a big margin.

v – Once again, an excellent performance by Farhan Alam as Mr. Irani. His comic performances are so good on-stage that every director should look forward to have on-board for their plays. Other Honorable Mentions: Rest of the cast.

vi – The production design is detailed, arranged with most appropriate props.

vii – The lighting was nicely handled, especially to highlight the beats of the scenes.

 

 

+ Low Points

i – In the first Act, the play starts in slow pace with handful of good jokes only.

 

 

+ Overall

A hilarious satire of the lies and deceit, Ghanchakar is one of the finest comedies, featuring impressively written script and direction.

 

 

Rate: 4.25 out of 5 stars