NAPA all set for Court martial

The first show will kick off on October 9.

KARACHI: The National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) continues to experiment with genres. After recently showcasing a children’s play based on the popular story of Ali Baba Aur Chalis Chor, the academy is all set to stage courtroom drama Court Martial.

Written by Indian writer Swadesh Deepak and directed by Napa alumni Sunil Shankar, the play is  an expose of the process of determining guilt and awarding punishment through the trial of Ram Chandra, a young soldier accused of killing an army officer. The witnesses, testimonies and evidence reveal a complex web of half-truths, prejudices and conspiracies.

“Using the hierarchy present in the armed forces the play tries to tackle many universal issues,” Shankar told The Express Tribune. “The complex of satisfying your ego and the natural tendency of power abuse has been tackled in a very simple stage presentation and language that everyone can enjoy.”

Shankar has previously directed notable plays for Napa including Peter Shaffer’s Eqqus and When Manto Met Ghalib — Ek Guftagu and has a rather experimental approach.

The play is based on a complex web of half-truths, prejudices and conspiracies. PHOTO: PUBLICITY

The cast consists of a variety of senior and junior Napa graduates including Adnan Jaffar, Nazarul Hasan, Ali Rizvi, Fawad Khan, Ovais Mangalwala, Meesum Naqvi, Hammad Sartaj, Javed Aslam, Saaduddin Haider and Kashif Hussain.

The play commences on October 9 and will take place every day from Thursday through Sunday until October 20.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2013.

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