Rah-e-Sabz: In the line of fire
Afghan theatre group to stage Shakespeare’s ‘Comedy of Errors’ despite threats by the Taliban.
NEW DELHI:
An Afghan theatre company, Rah-e-Sabz, which escaped a Taliban attack in Kabul last August because of a last-minute change in schedule, will stage an Afghan version of Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” at the Azad Bhavan in India.
A militant attack on the compound where the group rehearsed for their play had killed 12 people on August 19 last year. More than 10 years after the fall of Taliban, the theatre is yet to return to the cultural mainstream in Afghanistan. A source said the troupe was in the Taliban line of fire for defying the ban on stage.
The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), which has brought the play to India, said in a statement: “The Afghan actors in the play are hoping to redefine Shakespeare — and public perception about theatre in Afghanistan by performing the play.” After India, the repertory will stage the play at the Globe Theatre in London May 30-31. It is supported by the British Council.
The play with a cross-cultural international crew will be performed in Dari language with English sub-titles.
Recalling the attack on their theatre space, Corinne Jaber, the French director of the troupe, said: “I had asked the cast if they wanted to rehearse in the early hours of August 19, 2011 because it was Ramadan. But they said they didn’t want to. The attack happened at 5:30 pm and the decision saved us.” The troupe’s rehearsal space was damaged in the attack in the Karte Parwan district of the Afghanistan capital.
A spokesperson for the British Council, which promotes Britain’s cultural and educational relationship with other countries, said: “The troupe was unlikely to return to the compound where the attack happened because of the extent of the damage and continuing security concerns in the area”. It was currently operating from the British Embassy in Kabul, the ICCR said.
Rah-e-Sabz’s adaptation of the Shakespeare comedy is set in the bustling backstreets of modern-day Kabul, which are places of laughter and joy that few foreigners ever get to see or hear about. The Afghan adaptation narrates the tale of a set of identical twins, separated as babies during a sandstorm. The twins find themselves in Kabul for the first time as adults. Soon, their friends mistake the twins for one another and bewilderment abounds, as the wife of one man declares the other to be her husband, pronouncing him mad when he denies the claim.
A spokesperson for ICCR described the play as “exuberant, mystical and brilliantly farcical. Shakespeare’s shortest play is a romantic comedy of confusion and reunion in Afghanistan’s turbulent realpolitik, where theatre is a rare treat”.
“It is always very encouraging and exciting to see the re-emergence of artistic forms in Afghanistan after a long period of turmoil and instability. Promotion of arts and culture invariably brings certain sense of normalcy and stability to any society,” said Suresh K Goel, the director-general of ICCR.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 22nd, 2012.
An Afghan theatre company, Rah-e-Sabz, which escaped a Taliban attack in Kabul last August because of a last-minute change in schedule, will stage an Afghan version of Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” at the Azad Bhavan in India.
A militant attack on the compound where the group rehearsed for their play had killed 12 people on August 19 last year. More than 10 years after the fall of Taliban, the theatre is yet to return to the cultural mainstream in Afghanistan. A source said the troupe was in the Taliban line of fire for defying the ban on stage.
The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), which has brought the play to India, said in a statement: “The Afghan actors in the play are hoping to redefine Shakespeare — and public perception about theatre in Afghanistan by performing the play.” After India, the repertory will stage the play at the Globe Theatre in London May 30-31. It is supported by the British Council.
The play with a cross-cultural international crew will be performed in Dari language with English sub-titles.
Recalling the attack on their theatre space, Corinne Jaber, the French director of the troupe, said: “I had asked the cast if they wanted to rehearse in the early hours of August 19, 2011 because it was Ramadan. But they said they didn’t want to. The attack happened at 5:30 pm and the decision saved us.” The troupe’s rehearsal space was damaged in the attack in the Karte Parwan district of the Afghanistan capital.
A spokesperson for the British Council, which promotes Britain’s cultural and educational relationship with other countries, said: “The troupe was unlikely to return to the compound where the attack happened because of the extent of the damage and continuing security concerns in the area”. It was currently operating from the British Embassy in Kabul, the ICCR said.
Rah-e-Sabz’s adaptation of the Shakespeare comedy is set in the bustling backstreets of modern-day Kabul, which are places of laughter and joy that few foreigners ever get to see or hear about. The Afghan adaptation narrates the tale of a set of identical twins, separated as babies during a sandstorm. The twins find themselves in Kabul for the first time as adults. Soon, their friends mistake the twins for one another and bewilderment abounds, as the wife of one man declares the other to be her husband, pronouncing him mad when he denies the claim.
A spokesperson for ICCR described the play as “exuberant, mystical and brilliantly farcical. Shakespeare’s shortest play is a romantic comedy of confusion and reunion in Afghanistan’s turbulent realpolitik, where theatre is a rare treat”.
“It is always very encouraging and exciting to see the re-emergence of artistic forms in Afghanistan after a long period of turmoil and instability. Promotion of arts and culture invariably brings certain sense of normalcy and stability to any society,” said Suresh K Goel, the director-general of ICCR.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 22nd, 2012.