‘Pawnay 14 August’: Founding fathers have an encounter with what’s left of their legacy

Anwar Maqsood’s first-ever stage play comes to town.

ISLAMABAD:

Not far from the corridors of power Anwar Maqsood satirises quite often, his stage play “Pawnay 14 August” opened to a packed hall at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Wednesday.

Maqsood’s sharp wit, incisive sentences and original sarcasm are abundant in the one-act play that highlights Pakistan’s problems.

The play starts with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Muhammad Iqbal and Maulana Shaukat Ali waiting for their flight to Islamabad at the Karachi airport on the morning of August 15. The three had descended from heaven on August 11 to witness the state of affairs in Pakistan and celebrate the country’s independence.

Over the four days, no one has recognised them. With unconfirmed tickets, they interact with a number of travellers at the airport’s waiting lounge, such as politicians, a celebrity, an army officer, an overzealous Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf supporter and a Bangladeshi, only to learn sad truths about everything --- from Pakistan’s history of political turmoil to the country’s contemporary politics.

The play follows an almost predictable trajectory, with Jinnah and Iqbal getting frustrated with what has become of the Pakistan they had envisioned. They decide to leave, but catch a ray of hope just before their departure.

The play’s set design is quite realistic and detailed, although the two-storey arrangement and the constant coming and going of non-speaking characters sometimes disrupts concentration.

The script seems to lack force and focus at times, but Maqsood makes up with funny situations and an emotionally charged climax.

The play’s message is clear: There’s a plethora of problems in the country, but the youth can overcome the hurdles and create a better future.

“The change our generation has not been able to create, these children will bring about that change,” said Maqsood while addressing the audience after the show.

The play is extremely relevant in Pakistan’s current socio-political context. In fact, it is so current that the audience gasped and couldn’t help but think of Malala Yusufzai towards the end of the show, when a child character says he will try and change the country’s destiny, “if someone doesn’t shoot him.”

“The play is anti-everything, but it’s pro-Pakistan,” said the play’s director Dawar Mehmood.

Maqsood had said at a media briefing on Tuesday that he had written the stage play, his first-ever, on the condition that it would feature only young and amateur actors.

The first show in Islamabad was overall the 50th performance by the young cast and crew, which earlier completed successful runs in Karachi and Lahore.

“It’s a challenge to do justice to Maqsood’s sentences, but the cast is very comfortable in their roles now,” said Mehmood. “I can safely say that the amateur actors are now professionals.”

The young actors have done a great job indeed, especially Hassam Khan and Hareem Farooq, who portray Maulana Shaukat Ali and Veena Malik respectively.

The play, staged by KopyKats productions, will run till October 22, with a daily show at 8pm and an additional show on weekends at 4pm. Tickets can be purchased for Rs1,500.

The income from the show’s premiere went to schools running in Islamabad and Rawalpindi by The Citizens Foundation (TCF), a non-profit organisation that works to provide education to underprivileged children. A fund-raising dinner was also organised by TCF after the show.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2012.