Rafi Peer Youth Festival: Contrasting plays raise performance level on Day 3

NCA comedy and UCP play hailed as best shows at festival so far.

LAHORE:

The audience was treated to two contrasting stage performances, one prompting tears and one laughter, on the third day of the Rafi Peer Youth Festival at Gaddafi Stadium here on Thursday.

The crowd in Hall 2 at the Alhamra Cultural Complex enjoyed both Khaali Haath, performed by students of the University of Central Punjab, and a slapstick comedy by the National College of Arts. Several people said they were the best performances at the festival so far this year.

Khaali Haat explored the story of a poor single mother and her efforts to make sure her son gets all the privileges she did not.

The mother works hard so that her son can get an education, but the demands of this materialistic world, and her greedy offspring, prove too much. She ends up selling her kidney to raise money, but loses her life in the process.

The moral of the play was that people should be humble and never forget the sacrifices made by their parents to get them where they are. The message was not a new one, but good acting and a good script made it a powerful and sombre play.

Next up, NCA students put on a farce that takes a comical look at the various challenges facing the country and how people are dealing with them.

Again, not a new subject, but dealt with in a fresh perspective. The slapstick comedy, energetically performed, really lifted the mood and prompted several outbursts of laughter. Earlier in the evening, short films produced by NCA and Beaconhouse National University students were screened.

They included Pallet Eye, LPC, Lust, The Illusionist, Meri Tum, 8 Minute and Sholla Jutt.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2011.