Usman Peerzada upbeat about bringing back World Performing Arts Festival
Theatre group has been striving to relaunch festival
PHOTO: Publicity
LAHORE:
Rafi Peer Theatre’s World Performing Arts Festival came to an unfortunate halt in 2008 due to a terrorist attack.
Since then, the theatre group has been trying its best to relaunch the festival in vain.
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Last year, the group was set to announce the resumption of the festival at a press conference. The event was supposed to take place at Lahore’s Alhamra Cultural Complex and the hype around it was evident on the group’s Facebook page. They had even uploaded a questionnaire on their official website to gauge what people wanted and the reaction was encouraging. However, neither the press conference nor the festival ever happened.
“Convincing foreign delegates to visit Pakistan is a tough task. Nonetheless, we are striving to bring the festival back. We will hopefully succeed by the end of this year," Usman Peerzada of Rafi Peer Theatre told The Express Tribune.
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It is pertinent to mention that other organisations such as the Faiz Foundation, the Lahore Arts Council and the Punjab Arts Council have organised similar festivals successfully over the year. When asked Peerzada explained, “It’s absolutely right that events like the Faiz Festival have been held in Lahore and done a great service to arts and culture. However, the fact of the matter is that the nature of the World Performing Arts Festival is different. It’s longer and includes delegates from all over the world.”
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In the absence of the festival, the group has continued to play its part by organising small events for art enthusiasts. It has organised theatre workshops, film festivals, puppet shows and musical evenings and is also venturing into film production this year.
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Rafi Peer Theatre’s World Performing Arts Festival came to an unfortunate halt in 2008 due to a terrorist attack.
Since then, the theatre group has been trying its best to relaunch the festival in vain.
International moot: Faiz festival kicks off today
Last year, the group was set to announce the resumption of the festival at a press conference. The event was supposed to take place at Lahore’s Alhamra Cultural Complex and the hype around it was evident on the group’s Facebook page. They had even uploaded a questionnaire on their official website to gauge what people wanted and the reaction was encouraging. However, neither the press conference nor the festival ever happened.
“Convincing foreign delegates to visit Pakistan is a tough task. Nonetheless, we are striving to bring the festival back. We will hopefully succeed by the end of this year," Usman Peerzada of Rafi Peer Theatre told The Express Tribune.
Theatre performances: LUMS Dramafest ’16 ends
It is pertinent to mention that other organisations such as the Faiz Foundation, the Lahore Arts Council and the Punjab Arts Council have organised similar festivals successfully over the year. When asked Peerzada explained, “It’s absolutely right that events like the Faiz Festival have been held in Lahore and done a great service to arts and culture. However, the fact of the matter is that the nature of the World Performing Arts Festival is different. It’s longer and includes delegates from all over the world.”
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In the absence of the festival, the group has continued to play its part by organising small events for art enthusiasts. It has organised theatre workshops, film festivals, puppet shows and musical evenings and is also venturing into film production this year.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments below.