NAPA festival: A piece of ‘Art’

The second play at the Napa Performing Arts Festival leaves the audience in stitches.

KARACHI:

Carrying forward the momentum set on the opening day of the Napa Performing Arts Festival, the second day was even more fun-filled and exciting, laced with entertaining performances by the graduates of the Academy.  “Art”, the second play of the 11-day festival, managed to break all the stereotypes associated with Napa, bringing forth an hour-and-a-half of breathtaking performances.

Originally a French play of the same name, “Art” has been adapted in Urdu by Tariq Siddiqi and Sameena Nazir. The play, written by French playwright Yasmina Reza, stars Napa graduates, Adnan Jaffar, Fawad Khan and Mansoor Ali Khan.

“Art” revolves around three friends: Sameer (Adnan): an affluent divorced man who has recently developed a taste for fine arts, Sahir (Fawad), who teaches Urdu at Karachi University and tries to find a logical understanding behind everything and Salman (Mansoor), who works in the paper market and is about to get married.

The real drama begins when Sameer buys an extremely expensive painting that looks like a plain piece of white canvas — an act that the ‘rational’ Sahir finds hard to come to terms with. As a result, Sahir starts to brutally criticise Sameer, looking down upon him for his ‘foolish’ behaviour.

Although, the script had the potential to be directed in a much better fashion, the exceptional performances by the three main characters made up of for any shortcomings.

Untapped talent

Mansoor, who hasn’t been part of many Napa Repertory Theatre (NRT) plays, has turned out to be the hidden gem of the Academy. He played the role of an ignored and clueless young man to perfection and his concerns about his identity crises came through so meticulously that the audience could actually empathise with him. The scene in which he talks about his pre-marriage issues was the high point of his act.

Meanwhile, Fawad’s smart use of pauses throughout the performance made him stand out as an actor. For Jaffar, who has earlier impressed the audience by playing Oedipus in “Oedipus Rex” and a number of other monumental characters, this performance is yet another feather in his cap. His stage presence and unique voice add to his charisma.

The use of colloquial expression and daily jargons such as “Meri Hat Rahi Hai” and some abusive words make “Art” a very contemporary play — and something everyone can relate to. The performance has the potential of being staged on a larger platform as it has all the elements needed to attract crowds of all ages.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2012.