Karachiites to be treated to Italian theatre performance today

Napa students to perform a commedia dell'arte under guidance of Italian director Marco Luly

KARACHI: National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) students are attending workshops held by Italian actor, director and theatre teacher Marco Luly to perform a commedia dell'arte - a theatrical form characterised by improvised dialogue and a cast of colourful stock characters - the media was told at the Italian Consulate on Thursday.

"This is something that hasn't come to Pakistan just yet," said Italian Consul-General Gianluca Rubagotti. "We, as a consulate, are very involved in theatre and performing art activities in town and we would like to encourage the young Napa students," he said.

The performance is set to take place today and Luly said he is eager to see how a Pakistani audience reacts to one of Italy's most famous forms of theatrical performance.

"I am not teaching them every step of the way but am making sure that after the first step, they are able to take the other steps on their own," explained Luly. "This is my first time in Karachi. The students themselves are punctual - I don't need to train them like puppets but they are required to develop their own skills-set," he said.



Rubagotti described the play as a 'bit different from traditional Pakistani dramas' and said the students are experimenting using fusion as well.

"The play itself has some political, social and cultural issues involved, as well as the issues of jealousy," said Luly.

"We were very lucky [Luly] was engaged in a South Asian tour, so we convinced him to come to Karachi after his trips to Singapore and Bangkok. He was very enthusiastic about his trip to Pakistan," explained Rubagotti. "The whole project was a part of a weekly workshop with students and faculty from Napa as well as students from other universities in Karachi. The final show will be a combination of the experience of Marco Luly and some Pakistani flavour."

The play will be some part Italian culture and some part Pakistani, to add to the storyline, said Luly. He explained that the performers will be wearing marks that have been made by mask maker Giancarlo Santelli specifically for this performance that have been especially flown in from Italy, he said. "People in general tell tales and talk and that is what theatre or the art of storytelling is all about," said Luly.