Is laughter the best medicine?

The tug-of-war between comedy and serious plays.

LAHORE:

Comedy is a popular aspect of Pakistani theatre. Over the years, various stage dramas, which have been organised in several languages — ranging from Punjabi to English — have used the idea of dramatic comedy to cater to family audiences. Despite this, critics advocate that more serious and meaningful productions can play a better role in furthering the tradition of theatre in  the country.

The lack of diversity in today’s plays can be related to the fact that plays at both, the school and commercial level are of a comical nature. In schools, most plays selected by drama societies tend to use comedy or satire. Meanwhile, at the commercial level, even though most plays deal with different issues such as ‘budget’ and ‘lack of resources’, they are generally comical in nature.

“To be honest, comedy is a release of stress as it’s a way of getting away from the daily grind,” says Ian Eldred, a local theatre veteran who has done a summer course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in Shakespeare and contemporary theatre. However, he is quick to add that it is important to keep a balance; “Too much of any antidote can get you sick, but to say there shouldn’t be any is also incorrect.”

Eldred, who is actively involved in the English-language theatre scene in Lahore and has worked in several plays with Shah Sharabeel and Omair Rana, recalls that during his stay in London, the diversity in theatre reflected the rich culture of the city. Each night he could venture into one of the several auditoriums and watch a variety of plays — ranging from comedy to Shakespeare. The diversity, he adds, was due to the overall encouragement of arts in the city.

The debate in the theatre community, regarding the difficulty of performing serious and comedy roles is an ongoing one. Eldred explains that there are differences in opinion as to which roles are more difficult to play. “Comedy is one of the hardest forms of art because it’s tough and laboured,” says Eldred.

Veteran English theatre actor Salman Naseer explains that the stagnant quality of plays coupled with lack of experimentation, comes down to the amount of investment in the field. He also stresses that the fact that  for a long time production teams had to face an entertainment tax further kept producers from taking a risk.

“People in the West see theatre and cinema as a worthwhile investment, while over here, people are looking to just break even,” says Naseer. “Although in the past most plays have focused on comedy, I believe it’s a good idea for a play to have a moral and meaningful message.”

Producer Wasiq Qadeer, CEO of Production Illusions, thinks that the issue has to do with the audience’s taste. He says that vulgar Punjabi comedy has destroyed the family culture of watching theatre together. “The thinning attendance of families in theatre halls, which has been a result of more and more vulgar and provocative comedy plays is evident,” says Qadeer.

Meanwhile, actor and director Daud Randal explains that the issue has to be approached categorically, adding that it’s important to see whether the performer is doing comedy because he is good at it and enjoys it, or whether he is doing it purely for commercial reasons.

According to Randal, English theatre in Lahore has garnered approximately 20,000 regular viewers. However, he adds that English theatre cannot make ends meet through ticket sales so it’s largely dependent on sponsorships. Meanwhile, Punjabi theatre has stuck to a particular formula and thus, does have the capability to generate profits based on ticket sales. Thus, as Punjabi theatre is making money, producers are reluctant and in fact,are not encouraged to experiment.

“If there was a concerted effort, over a decade, maybe then a culture can develop where audiences accept serious plays, making way for diversity,” says Randal.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th,  2011.