‘Women are not objects of violence’

Interactive theatre festival opens in City

LAHORE:

Three plays covering issues faced by women and minorities were showcased at the 15th Interactive Theatre Festival which opened on Saturday.

“We picked the themes for the plays in group discussions in an eight-day workshop before the festival,” said Ishtiaq Hussain, coordination manager of the festival told The Express Tribune.

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He said participants of the workshop had discussed various issues which they felt were important. “The plays were developed through extensive research on the chosen themes.”

He said the cast had been chosen from the Interactive Resource Centre. “They have worked in various communities across the Punjab,” he said.

He said the actors were not professionals. “The idea is to highlight issues which they feel are important,” he said.

The first play had an all-male cast.



Performers from the Mandwa Theatre Group made a comment on violence against women.

The only female presence on the stage was through a stool.

Actors depicting fathers, brothers and husbands inflicted violence on the object.

“It is a comment on masculinity,” Hussain said.

The performers asked questions in the interactive element of the play, discussing legislation for protection of women’s rights and its implementation. They also talked about forced marriages.

The audience disagreed with the violence carried out by the men in the play. They said the best way to counter misogyny was to change social attitudes and mindsets.  The second play, Kalpana, was performed by Jaag Theatre group from Bahawalnagar.

It focused on minority rights. All characters in the play had two names. There was a name which they used in public and another at home.  One character introduced herself as Shakuntla in private and Shumaila in public.  The play posed questions about the status of minorities in the country and stereotypes about them in textbooks.



The third play, also by Mandwa Theatre Company, told the story of Mirza Sahibah.

The festival will continue on Sunday (today). It will showcase two new plays and Mirza Sahiba will be performed again.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2016.