Theatre: Ajoka revives play on ‘madness’ of Partition

Manto’s Toba Tek Singh performed for Urdu Conference.

LAHORE:

Ajoka Theatre performed the play Toba Tek Singh, an adapttaion of a story by Sadaat Hassan Manto, at Alhamra on Tuesday.

The story is set around the time when the governments of Pakistan and India decided to exchange prisoners.

“It is set in a mental asylum during partition and the characters parody politicians…the message is that partition affected everyone, including those in mental asylums,” says Naseem Abbas, the Ajoka theatre veteran who plays the Bishan Singh.

Abbas said Ajoka had adapted several Manto stories over the years, including Naya Qanoon. He said Toba Tek Singh was a popular play because the story was strong.

“I don’t really speak in the play…I merely ask, ‘where is Toba Tek Singh, is it in India or Pakistan?’,” says Abbas. Abbas had been the narrator in the play for 10 years and only recently took the lead role.

He said room for big productions was limited. “The good thing is that something [Alhamra] is available and the audience are not charged…the biggest thing is making sure the message reaches the people and they enjoy it.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2012.