The play Is Diye Ko Jalne Do, presented by Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop, in collaboration with the Royal Norwegian Embassy, was staged in Lahore last week. It was staged in the foyer leading to the platform of Alhamra for two nights to an audience that sat on the makeshift seats and on the lawn where usually musical sessions are held during early and late evenings.
It may have been a throwback to the time when many of the groups were not allowed to perform at Alhamra and it was often an issue that attracted media headlines. The political content was the main reason that the facilities of the government run and controlled Arts Councils were denied to theatre enthusiasts but now much has changed. The same groups are allowed to perform at Alhamra and the content too is still just as explosive. In certain ways, tolerance has increased but in many other ways the space has narrowed for the freedom of expression in the country.
The reason for the outdoor performance was not that sinister or sensational or media headline grapping because Hall 1 was shut for repairs and Hall 2 was already booked for a commercial play from which Alhamra seems to shore up its budgetary shortfall.
The play revolved around the question of women’s rights and their role in society and what could be a better or more direct way of doing so than to use the text of the women writers and poets. Under the label of feminism, especially its more strident variety much is lost that falls in the domain of discrimination and prejudice because the aggression in tone and type puts off many sympathisers. When women speak, and if they do within the overall context of human fulfillment/happiness and their role in society, then it strikes a chord that does not offer a kneejerk reaction of hostility or wariness of sorts.
Most of the script was based on the poems of famous poets and personalities like Yasmeen Hameed, Fatimah Hasan and Mansoora Ahmed. The characters portrayed were mostly of the mother, the wife, the sister -- the three relationships that are so eulogised and kept above board but are the repository of great discrimination as well. By focusing on these relationships an honest enquiry was initiated as to how these embed within themselves the real seeds of discrimination and exploitation and how it can be got rid off. It was woven with many a traditional and also contemporary situations in such a fashion that the real pain and grief of women and exploitation came out forcefully.
The selection of the poems or verses from the poems and of putting them together in a certain order was done by Ijaz Rizvi, who has been writing scripts for television and also occasionally for the stage.
The poetry and even the dialogues strung them together were more often than not sung or chanted, at times it was accompanied by piped music and at times it was read out or delivered as in a play which is not a musical. It has become a practice that music, singing, chanting and reading poetry in our traditional manner has been often used in stage plays in our country as a continuation of the traditional folk tradition that sees no artistic glitch in moving from one to the other to the third. This besides its dramatic effectiveness also links us to our traditions that may have its own unquantifiable weightage.
The women characters were played relatively more convincingly b Yusra Anwar, Barkatay (mother), Arva Hayat, Fatimah (daughter), Janat, Naureen (wife), Rabia (sister), while the rest of the cast included, Aslam Sheikh as police inspector, Saud Butt as news hawker, Feroz Butt as Noureen’s husband, Shujaat Haider as Fatima’s father, Abdul Wakeel, Ali Haider and Ehtsham Ali as terrorists.
The play appears to be a successful effort to help young talent make a breakthrough and express itself on a public platform. The organisers went about scouting for talent and were most accommodating in giving the youngsters a chance or an opening for bringing in fresh blood on to the stage. Often youngsters can find the transition from an academic environment to a professional or semi-professional arena a little difficult to negotiate, but such initiatives may have made that transition a little easier for them.
A drive was launched about 10 years ago to sensitise the students -- especially schoolgoing students, to perform in plays. Once past school and college, students are usually shy of performing on stage because of pressure at home and also non-availability of opportunities. A group has been working to facilitate students and recent graduates to continue with what they had started with passion and they found themselves involved with it as well.
Calling themselves Mandwa Theatre, this group led by Tipu Sultan, also the director of the play, has been quite active -- taking groups of students to India as well to participate in theatre festivals particularly one called Ryan International which attracted theatre groups of students from dozens of countries. This exposure has given youngsters confidence and made them rise above the narrow value structure that they find themselves hemmed in.
Such initiatives help communicate misgivings and misunderstandings as people from various backgrounds come together. Theatre provides an excellent opportunity for young people to broaden their horizons; it keeps prejudices from developing into incurable sores. The broader the exposure and vision of youngsters the better it is for society. Wholesome and well-rounded education is a far more enriching experience as compared to narrow parochial drumming that can lead to intellectual regimentation.