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Watching
the Tamasha unfold
By
Shiraz Mukarram
Karachi
The Musafat theatre festival (the journey continues) continued with
yet another splendid performance with the staging of ‘Dekh Tamasha
Chalta Ban’. The play was initially performed in November 1992, and
is now being enacted at the silver jubilee celebrations of Ajoka
theatre group.
The play, directed by Madeeha Gauhar, engaged the stage at the Arts
Council for about two hours, but unfortunately did not have a packed
audience, as only the first three rows were filled with an eclectic
mix of families and others.
This mesmerising play written by Shahid Nadeem talks about the
hounding of religious minorities in Pakistan, a complexity shared by
several South Asian countries that has become a serious political
question because of the rise of religious fundamentalism in the
region.
With an ideal start of incorporating the title song ‘Tu Dekh Tamasha
Chalta Ban’, vocalised by all the actors lined up in a row on the
stage added more energy into the play that had a bold and direct
manner in depicting the foundation of such persecution all the while
challenging the audience for being silent spectators in the show.
The actors left the audience engaged in the complexities of the
play. “This is a diverse approach altogether added in this specific
play where the actors also leave the stage and come down amongst
viewers, keeping the momentum of the play in its highest esteem,
just to make it more exciting and interactive,” said Madeeha Gauher,
one of the founders of the Ajoka Theatre group, while talking to The
News.
The story of the play has two groups of characters, the whites, who
are apparently symbols of kindness and the blacks, who are evil and
nasty. Then there are victims, used as scapegoats for political or
personal reasons and crucified.
Narrator of the whole story, who keeps on naming himself as ‘Ravi’
and calls the audience as ‘Tamashai’, did a magnificent job by
keeping everyone happy and under control. The play mocks the
government’s connivance, dotting and touching raw nerves in today’s
Pakistan, where there is an on-going military operation in Swat,
incidents of flogging and armed violence have become the order of
the day among religious extremists and feuled by the establishment.
“Dekh Tamasha” also had its moments of dark hilarity and farcical
song and dance, featuring images of brutality and the grotesque. The
play does not sugar down the truth as it leaves the audience with
serious questions in the hope that they will find their answers.
While talking to the director of the play, The News learnt that the
Ajoka team solely relied on sending emails for the promotion of the
whole festival apart from displaying posters at the Arts Council.
Madeeha Gauher also admitted that due to the little marketing
coupled with insufficient resources the plays have had a slim
audience. On the other hand, she added that that this case is only
is Karachi, as in Lahore and Islamabad hundreds of people have
attended the event.
The
News: Wednesday, June 03, 2009 |
