A look at theatre
Naeem Tahir
In the context of ‘today’, the theatre movement has shown its resilience not because of the support provided by the government, but sometimes in spite of it. The so-called censorship, script approvals, raids on theatres and bans are all bureaucratic mechanisms for arm-twisting, suppression and corruption
One of my early memories of theatre in Pakistan is of the Kendal family of Shakespeareans performing at the Pakistan Arts Council, Alhamra’s minuscule hall. I recall Mr Kendal, his wife Laura, and the two daughters, Felicity and Jennifer, sitting in the verandah and repairing the costumes. One of the daughters got married to Shashi Kapoor and featured in the film ‘Shakespeare Wala’ in 1965, directed by James Ivory and starring Shashi Kapoor, Felicity Kendal, George Kendal, Madhur Jaffery and others. The Kendals had arrived in Lahore to perform a selection of their repertoire on the invitation of Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj, the then secretary general of the Pakistan Arts Council.
I have seen a lot happen since then. The contribution of Government College, Khawaja Moeenuddin, Zia Mohiyuddin, myself, Sigred Kahle, Miss Harbottle, Mohsin Sherazi, Kamal Ahmed Rizvi, Naveed Rahman, and Mehr Nigar Masroor. There are many other pioneers, including those who are not much talked about, but some of them need to be mentioned, e.g. Ali Ahmed, who concentrated on plays with progressive thought in Lahore, Raza Yousafi and Nazeer Zaigham and his team, the roving village theatre of Inayat Hussain Bhatti, Aashiq Jatt, and Aalam Lohar. Then there was participation in melas. The roving theatre of my team of Qavi, Yasmin Imtiaz Ali, Rehana Siddiqi, Naheed Rana, Khurshid Shahid, Zaigham, Masood Akhter, Kaukab Afzal, Jamil Bismil and many others made a contribution in reaching out to the masses in trying conditions. I always pray for those who laid the foundation of the great movement that theatre is today in Pakistan.
In 2009, when I was still the chief executive and director general of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), I organised a theatre festival in Islamabad. Contrary to the expectations of the cynics, the festival ran for over 40 days to packed houses, and teams from all over Pakistan participated, ranging from Skardu to Sibi. There were some memorable presentations and people were amazed at the huge power and scope of the theatre movement in Pakistan. The popular response happened in spite of terror threats.
In the context of ‘today’, the theatre movement has shown its resilience, not because of the support provided by the government, but sometimes in spite of it. The so-called censorship, script approvals, raids on theatres and bans are all bureaucratic mechanisms for arm-twisting, suppression and corruption. This festival met with success because an effort was made to stand between the coercive forces and the creative impulses. Some very memorable plays were staged, including those of Sheema Kirmani, Madiha Gohar, Sania Saeed, and Come Again, by a young team. Plays like Burqavaganza were staged with its satiric content. It is surprising that now I hear a lot of talk about some ‘censor’ on Burqavaganza! What censor? Why? Just because a rightist MNA of the previous assembly raised a question? A question that was ignored by the National Assembly and no orders were issued? There was no censor on this play at that time, during the so-called ‘dictatorshipÂ’. How can this ‘democratic’ government, which professes a progressive approach and support to the arts, ban a satire? Have a heart and let the play be staged, put aside the personal differences with Ajoka and do not choke the writer’s voice.
In recent years theatre activity has strengthened in (all) three directions, namely the popular theatre of the masses, theatre of social relevance, and the elitist theatre which is mostly in the English language. The elitist theatre groups get away with a lot. Young people like Shah Sharabeel know how to handle influential individuals. But this form, although sneered at by some highbrows, has played a very important role in popularising theatre in the influential circles. A recent production of the musical Mamma Mia was amazing and surprised audiences by the stunning singing talent in the country.
The worst hit is the popular theatre, which is blackmailed, raided, accused of obscenity in a shameless way by the heavy hand of the administration. Still, the support of the common man continues as they pay for tickets, contribute to taxes, and provide livelihood to so many.
The next is the theatre of relevance. Here some great dramas are being created. The recently staged Dara at Alhamra by Shahid Nadeem was touching and focused on the tragic turn in history that brought a fundamentalist emperor into power, causing the beginning of the end of an empire, an empire that could have survived by the inclusive approach of Dara. Such theatre often meets criticism from right-wingers, mostly those who have a ‘Taliban’ mindset, expressed either openly or hidden. Tolerance, wider vision, and sincere analysis are needed to make these efforts grow. In fact, this is the real role of theatre as an institution. Such theatrical plays must provide food for thought, in depth understanding of society, and point out the areas where attitudes need to be reviewed.
Theatre in our country still has a long way to go. With the demise of cinema in our country, theatre is the only place where a motivated set of people goes and either enjoys or learns, or both. I had proposed the construction of a national theatre and theatre halls at provincial capitals and some other places, including Gilgit. I sincerely hope these projects will see the light of day and the land reserved for this purpose will not be withdrawn. The present government has earned the unenviable reputation of being inefficient and rudderless, but I believe that sooner or later everyone can do some good. Maybe the now all-powerful prime minister will show a commitment and support to the performing arts in reality. I also hope that the government will restrain the oppressive forces and the agents of corruption. That they will take pride in this national heritage and set up an ‘archive of performing arts’ before the record of the great struggle in this area since independence is lost or destroyed.
Naeem Tahir has been associated with performing arts for over 40 years. He was the Chief Executive/Director General of Pakistan’s apex cultural organisation, the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). He can be reached at [email protected]
Source: Daily Times
Date:5/1/2010
Naeem Tahir
In the context of ‘today’, the theatre movement has shown its resilience not because of the support provided by the government, but sometimes in spite of it. The so-called censorship, script approvals, raids on theatres and bans are all bureaucratic mechanisms for arm-twisting, suppression and corruption
One of my early memories of theatre in Pakistan is of the Kendal family of Shakespeareans performing at the Pakistan Arts Council, Alhamra’s minuscule hall. I recall Mr Kendal, his wife Laura, and the two daughters, Felicity and Jennifer, sitting in the verandah and repairing the costumes. One of the daughters got married to Shashi Kapoor and featured in the film ‘Shakespeare Wala’ in 1965, directed by James Ivory and starring Shashi Kapoor, Felicity Kendal, George Kendal, Madhur Jaffery and others. The Kendals had arrived in Lahore to perform a selection of their repertoire on the invitation of Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj, the then secretary general of the Pakistan Arts Council.
I have seen a lot happen since then. The contribution of Government College, Khawaja Moeenuddin, Zia Mohiyuddin, myself, Sigred Kahle, Miss Harbottle, Mohsin Sherazi, Kamal Ahmed Rizvi, Naveed Rahman, and Mehr Nigar Masroor. There are many other pioneers, including those who are not much talked about, but some of them need to be mentioned, e.g. Ali Ahmed, who concentrated on plays with progressive thought in Lahore, Raza Yousafi and Nazeer Zaigham and his team, the roving village theatre of Inayat Hussain Bhatti, Aashiq Jatt, and Aalam Lohar. Then there was participation in melas. The roving theatre of my team of Qavi, Yasmin Imtiaz Ali, Rehana Siddiqi, Naheed Rana, Khurshid Shahid, Zaigham, Masood Akhter, Kaukab Afzal, Jamil Bismil and many others made a contribution in reaching out to the masses in trying conditions. I always pray for those who laid the foundation of the great movement that theatre is today in Pakistan.
In 2009, when I was still the chief executive and director general of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), I organised a theatre festival in Islamabad. Contrary to the expectations of the cynics, the festival ran for over 40 days to packed houses, and teams from all over Pakistan participated, ranging from Skardu to Sibi. There were some memorable presentations and people were amazed at the huge power and scope of the theatre movement in Pakistan. The popular response happened in spite of terror threats.
In the context of ‘today’, the theatre movement has shown its resilience, not because of the support provided by the government, but sometimes in spite of it. The so-called censorship, script approvals, raids on theatres and bans are all bureaucratic mechanisms for arm-twisting, suppression and corruption. This festival met with success because an effort was made to stand between the coercive forces and the creative impulses. Some very memorable plays were staged, including those of Sheema Kirmani, Madiha Gohar, Sania Saeed, and Come Again, by a young team. Plays like Burqavaganza were staged with its satiric content. It is surprising that now I hear a lot of talk about some ‘censor’ on Burqavaganza! What censor? Why? Just because a rightist MNA of the previous assembly raised a question? A question that was ignored by the National Assembly and no orders were issued? There was no censor on this play at that time, during the so-called ‘dictatorshipÂ’. How can this ‘democratic’ government, which professes a progressive approach and support to the arts, ban a satire? Have a heart and let the play be staged, put aside the personal differences with Ajoka and do not choke the writer’s voice.
In recent years theatre activity has strengthened in (all) three directions, namely the popular theatre of the masses, theatre of social relevance, and the elitist theatre which is mostly in the English language. The elitist theatre groups get away with a lot. Young people like Shah Sharabeel know how to handle influential individuals. But this form, although sneered at by some highbrows, has played a very important role in popularising theatre in the influential circles. A recent production of the musical Mamma Mia was amazing and surprised audiences by the stunning singing talent in the country.
The worst hit is the popular theatre, which is blackmailed, raided, accused of obscenity in a shameless way by the heavy hand of the administration. Still, the support of the common man continues as they pay for tickets, contribute to taxes, and provide livelihood to so many.
The next is the theatre of relevance. Here some great dramas are being created. The recently staged Dara at Alhamra by Shahid Nadeem was touching and focused on the tragic turn in history that brought a fundamentalist emperor into power, causing the beginning of the end of an empire, an empire that could have survived by the inclusive approach of Dara. Such theatre often meets criticism from right-wingers, mostly those who have a ‘Taliban’ mindset, expressed either openly or hidden. Tolerance, wider vision, and sincere analysis are needed to make these efforts grow. In fact, this is the real role of theatre as an institution. Such theatrical plays must provide food for thought, in depth understanding of society, and point out the areas where attitudes need to be reviewed.
Theatre in our country still has a long way to go. With the demise of cinema in our country, theatre is the only place where a motivated set of people goes and either enjoys or learns, or both. I had proposed the construction of a national theatre and theatre halls at provincial capitals and some other places, including Gilgit. I sincerely hope these projects will see the light of day and the land reserved for this purpose will not be withdrawn. The present government has earned the unenviable reputation of being inefficient and rudderless, but I believe that sooner or later everyone can do some good. Maybe the now all-powerful prime minister will show a commitment and support to the performing arts in reality. I also hope that the government will restrain the oppressive forces and the agents of corruption. That they will take pride in this national heritage and set up an ‘archive of performing arts’ before the record of the great struggle in this area since independence is lost or destroyed.
Naeem Tahir has been associated with performing arts for over 40 years. He was the Chief Executive/Director General of Pakistan’s apex cultural organisation, the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). He can be reached at [email protected]
Source: Daily Times
Date:5/1/2010
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