Lahore’s Alhamra Arts Council to produce its own plays for rebirth of constructive stage dramas

LAHORE: Lahore’s Alhamra Arts Council (AAC) has decided to produce its own plays for the revival of constructive theatre. The council has also sent suggestions to the Punjab government.



The purpose of this development is to boost the confidence of families towards the concept of theatre and cultural activities. The administration unit suggests lower ticket prices be provided for families so they are able to watch the plays more frequently, thereby increasing sales.

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The AAC also consulted senior script writers and theatre directors for the production of the plays. According to the administrators, in coming years, most plays shown at Alhamra will now be their own productions.

A panel encompassing artists, writers and the administrators will be established, with newer plays produced - promoting constructive thoughts and imparting beneficial moral lessons, and they shall be playing between 8pm and 11pm.



Both commercial and parallel theatres are facing issues, especially in Lahore, where this wonderful tradition of watching stage dramas exists. The theatres have had to increase their ticket prices due to the lack of government support and cooperation, resulting in lower sales.
Although the AAC is famous for providing decent opportunities to the public, not much can be done when the theatre industry is declining.

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Amusing opportunities were provided to artists to perform and institutions to produce. Nonetheless, the administrators are doing everything in their power to attract more and more people towards the arts, especially theatre. The current team recently produced a song for the first time – introducing young singers.



It was supposedly Pakistan’s senior artists who advised the administrators to produce their own plays. The artists even exhibited their willingness to help and support the team. The theatre actors and artists truly appreciate this and really believe that this will create a myriad of work opportunities for them

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“The biggest issue right now within Lahore’s theatre industry is that our viewers, especially families, are not willing to come and watch the plays due to the quality of the shows,” director and actor Goshi Khan told The Express Tribune.



He continued, “There are numerous issues with commercial theatre, including vulgarity and out-of-script dialogues. Families demand pure theatre – a real source of entertainment, a refreshment so to speak. They want to be able to appreciate the idea of Alhamra as a cultural hub of activities – promoting our values.”

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