Hearty laughs promised as first of two comedy plays starts at Napa today
Theatregoers will be in for some hearty laughs as the story of a Memon mamu (maternal uncle) and his bhanja (nephew), who have lost all their wealth in a stock market crash, will unfold during the play ‘Latri Jo Lafro’ that starts on Wednesday (today) at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa).
At a press conference on Tuesday, Napa’s artistic director Zain Ahmed said the play was being presented by the Napa Repertory Theatre (NRT) in collaboration with Napa graduates. “The play will be performed for five days, from May 10 to May 14.”
Ahmed said Napa was providing mentorship to help students in writing original plays. “Latri Jo Lafro is an original play about Karachiites. The audience will definitely be able to relate to the story.”
Talking to journalists, novice director Faraz Saad Chhotani said his father, Younus Chhotqani, had penned the play. “Latri Jo Lafro is a comedy based on a hilarious story of two Memon characters, Bachu Bhai and his nephew, Zubair. They have lost all their wealth in a stock market crash and owe a lot of money to their creditors, whom they must now somehow evade.”
The cast includes Nazar-ul-Hassan, Meesam Naqvi, Hammad Khan, Ashfaq Ahmad, Kaleem Ghouri, Tanveer Gill and Hasnain.
Two days after the end of ‘Latri Jo Lafro’, another comedy play, ‘Spygames’, will be performed from May 16 to May 18.
“Spygames takes place in the lounge of a large country house where prospective contestants for a TV reality show gather aiming to win a large cash prize, but only if they survive the rigours of the ultimate spy games,” said director Ubaid Iqbal.
The play, which is written by Bettine Manktelow and adapted by Babar Jamal, will cast Kashif Hussain, Saman Khan, Nazar-ul-Hassan, Syeda Maha Ali, Shehrish Qadir, Aisha Iqbal and Zain Nazar.
Speaking at the presser, Napa’s director programmes and administration, Arshad Mahmud, said there was a need to develop the culture of appreciating theatre.
“We want our people to encourage these young artistes who are making all out efforts to produce quality theatre shows.”
He said around 20 percent expenses of Napa were covered through ticket revenue, while the federal government was bearing the rest of the expenditures.
“We gave a presentation to the finance secretary on our achievements. He appreciated our efforts but didn’t increase Napa’s share in the upcoming budget.”
Mahmud added the administration was hopeful that the government would increase Napa’s funds in the next budget.
He said Napa’s students and graduates were also being trained in what techniques they should apply to get their message across.
“Recently, I was in the United States where I saw that a theatre play, Philanthropist, was booked for three months.”
He hoped that the two plays at Napa would attract audiences in large numbers, which would serve as a vote of confidence for the young talent involved and the institute itself.
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