I dreamed a dream: Les Miserables in Peshawar

Victor Hugo’s novel adapted by Edwardes College students

PESHAWAR:

Victor Hugo’s classic—and lengthy—novel Les Miserables was adapted for theatre by students of Edwardes College. It was performed at Old Hall of the college on Wednesday.

The play is based on a French novel based in the 19th century set during a rebellion against monarchy. The novel depicts the struggle of the power and the powerful –a metaphysical struggle encapsulated in the clash between an escaped convict and a law-enforcement officer.



“It was a revolution for freedom and hope for the people,” the director of play, Professor Nasir Iqbal, told The Express Tribune. “It is somewhat relevant to our conditions today as our people also are fedup of the situation in the country; they are striving to bring change in society so values prevail.” The professor added the novel’s adaptation has been successful in theatres in New York and London. Though productions of the play in the two mega cities had big money and top billing actors at hand, Edwardes College did not shy away from the mammoth production.

The miserable ones

Les Miserables depicts the struggle of the less fortunate in a society ruled by monarchs.

Jean Valjean, played by Muhammad Daud, is a convict jailed for stealing a loaf of bread. However, after prison he lands at the house of a kind bishop and eventually becomes the mayor of Montreuil, a town in France. Valjean’s struggle brings prosperity to Montreuil and also makes him an optimistic person. He constantly encounters Javert, a police inspector played by Amir Taimur.

Another protagonist in the novel is Fantine, performed by Jannat Mehmood. Fantine is a factory worker who loses her job when her co-workers find out that she has an illegitimate child. She is abandoned by her lover and to pay her daughter’s caretakers Fantine resorts to prostitution.

Challenge for students

One of the longest European novels, it was a hard task for students to coherently do it, justice. However, two tough months resulted in the production witnessed on Wednesday. In a city which rarely sees theatre come to town, the production coming to life was an accomplishment in itself.



Members of Edwardes Dramatics Society have produced other famous plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth and Julius Caesar. Some contemporary works have also made the cut, like A Man for All Seasons and Then There Were None.

The society was started by the legendary Indian actor Prithviraj Kapoor and famous Pakistani actor Qavi Khan who started their careers on the stage of Edwardes College.

“The performance of students was remarkable,” said Sayd Sohaib Shah who was in the audience.

Les Miserables will run for four days.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2016.