Finally: Karachi Theatre Festival to commence from November 3

Plays by Zia Mohyeddin, Sheema Kermani, Zain Ahmed, Khalid Ahmed and Khalid Anum to headline 19-day event


Our Correspondent October 28, 2016
Still from Zia Mohyeddin’s first production of Khwabon Ke Musafir. PHOTOS: PUBLICITY

KARACHI: After numerous futile attempts, Arts Council Karachi has finally managed to kick-start the first-ever Karachi Theatre Festival, which was initially scheduled for July. The festival will now take place from November 3 to November 21.

At a press conference held on Wednesday it was announced that the 19-day festival will feature industry veterans such as Zia Mohyeddin, Khalid Ahmad and Sheema Kermani. Well-known directors such as Zain Ahmed and Khalid Anum will also participate alongside some promising new talent.



The event will open with Khwabon Ke Musafir, a play written by the late Intizar Hussain and directed by Mohyeddin, and close with Kermani’s Jinnay Lahore Nahi Vekhya. “We made the decision to begin the festival with Hussain’s play to give him a tribute,” said Arts Council Karachi general secretary Ahmed Shah.

Other plays that will be showcased include Anum’s Choti Moti Tota aur SM Hamid, Uzma Sabeen’s Mere Saamne Wali Khidki Mein and Ahmed’s Gurya Ka Ghar — an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Kermani will present a second play titled Manto Mera Dost. Moreover, National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) alumnus Akbar Islam will stage Aarfi — an adaptation of Mary Chase’s Harvey.

“Just like the Arts Council holds Urdu conferences, Youth Festival and Music Festival annually, we are building the foundation for an annual theatre festival,” Shah shared. According to him, Karachi has a very vibrant theatre history. “Names like Rahat Kazmi, Khwaja Moinuddin, Agha Hashar, Ali Ahmed and Aslam Azhar used to present brilliant plays but that tradition seems to be fading. That is one reason we decided to hold the Karachi Theatre Festival…to breathe new life into the theatre scene here.”

The event was earlier postponed due to funding issues. “We had postponed the festival because our internal funding had been delayed,” Shah had told The Express Tribune, in an earlier interview. It will be completely free of cost for the audience.



Shah noted that this decision was taken to attract people from all over Karachi. “It’s sad that in a city of 25 million, we only have one proper auditorium at the Arts Council. Earlier, the plays presented here were only watched by people who could afford to pay the fee,” he said. “We are keeping the festival free for all so that people from every class and corner of the city can watch the performances.”

Some of the plays lined up for the festival have already been presented at Napa. After the festival was initially postponed in July, a three-play series was showcased at Napa which included Gurya Ghar, Mere Samne Wali Khidki Mein and Aarfi as well.

With the exception of two children’s plays to be presented at 5pm, the rest of the plays will be staged at 8pm every day. Entry coupons can be collected from Arts Council starting November 1.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2016.

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