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WEEKLY
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| Kanjoos: a generous helping of humour |
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Sunday, August 09, 2009
By Rafay Mahmood
Karachi
Contrary to its title, Kanjoos – the fourth play of the year staged by the NAPA Repertory Theatre Company (NRTC) – was perhaps one of the most entertaining and hilarious performances delivered by the company till date.
The play, an adaptation of Molier’s “The Miser”, was directed by NAPA faculty member Anjum Ayaz, revolved around a man named Mirza, a wealthy man in his seventies, who plans to marry the beautiful young daughter of another rich personality. However, the twist to the tale is that Mirza’s own son was involved in an affair with the same girl.
Kanjoos was definitely a leap forward for NAPA in terms of script, acting and technical aspects including sound design of the play. The best part of the script was that it had contemporary humour, with jokes ranging from local bus W-11 to politicians Sheikh Rasheed and Sherry Rehman.
Many in the audience commented that the play was a reprieve from everyday anxiety and depression. The play did not feature the age-old clichés of old school Urdu, dancing girls, and men talking about women empowerment. Rather, its unique selling point was that Ayaz had employed theatre as the perfect means of escape for the audience: while the audience were fixated to the performance, they seemed to have forgotten about news bulletins and saw life simply through the eyes of those characters.
In a pleasing change from other NAPA plays, which failed to utilise sound to progress the narrative or to ensure than character’s dialogues are audible to the person sitting in the last row of the auditorium, directions in Kanjoos ensured that such mistakes were not made. Whenever there was a major turning point in the play, the characters stood static and fast-paced jazz played with keyboard notes, hinting to the audience that something another twist is imminent.
The acting, as typical of NAPA plays, was brilliant, with the addition of Zeba Shahnaz proving to be a masterstroke. Shahnaz literally left her mark on the audience with her stage presence, while her chemistry with Mesum Naqvi was also dazzling. Abdul Rauf Afridi also shone on stage, perhaps even outdoing his performance in “Khamosh Yeh Adalat”.
The last word however belongs to the director, who should be lauded for apt casting, giving each character a distinct trait, be it the walking stick of Mirza Sahab or the continuous transformations from cook to the driver.
The play is worth a lot more than its Rs500 ticket, as it offers quality amusement for the entertainment-starved Karachiites.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
