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Instep Today

Bananistan is packed with laughs

By Buraq Shabbir
Thu, 08, 16

Meeting a group of passionate artists who love what they do can be an uplifting experience. And that’s exactly what one felt after spending some time with team Kopykats during the rehearsals of their latest theatre effort, Bananistan. Penned by a group of writers, each bringing their own expertise to the table, Bananistan is packed with laughs; the kind that will make even the most jaded of viewer chuckle in delight.

CURTAINRAISER

An hour spent with the cast and crew of the upcoming theatre production assures one that the futuristic play is going to be hilarious.

Meeting a group of passionate artists who love what they do can be an uplifting experience. And that’s exactly what one felt after spending some time with team Kopykats during the rehearsals of their latest theatre effort, Bananistan. Penned by a group of writers, each bringing their own expertise to the table, Bananistan is packed with laughs; the kind that will make even the most jaded of viewer chuckle in delight.

To learn more about the play and the team behind it, I visited one rehearsal and learned just how much hard work goes into each production. After all, unlike televisions and films, where actors can re-take until they get the scene right, theatre is about getting it right beforehand because on the D-Day, there is no room for mistakes.

The brains behind Bananistan Dawar Mehmood who has also written the script and Tulin Khalid Azim who dons the director’s hat for the play.
The brains behind Bananistan Dawar Mehmood who has also written the script and Tulin Khalid Azim who dons the director’s hat for the play.

Upon entering the auditorium, I noticed that several actors were already on stage, prepping for their roles and that glimpse was enough to convince me that the play has the potential to surpass past Kopykats productions. As for specifics, it’s a play within a play, according to Dawar Mehmood (the brains behind Bananistan). As he sat down for a brief interview with Instep, it became clear that the play is futuristic, satirical and draws inspiration from our twisted reality. What’s notable though is how it comes together. 

While discussing the plot of the play, Mehmood didn’t speak in abstraction but shared jokes from the script and even mimicked some characters (to my delight).

 “Set in 2030, the play within the play is titled Mere Sultan Ka Fatima Gul Se Ishq e Mamnoon and revolves around a clichéd love story,” elaborated Mehmood.

The characters, meanwhile, featured in the love story are represented by our very own politicians who give auditions to take part in the play (within the play). It will take into account the lives of our politicians in the year 2030 with some of them moonlighting as wedding planners and so on.

All major power players from Pakistani politics such as Imran Khan (played by Dawar Mehmood), Altaf Hussain (Saqib Sumeer), Asif Ali Zardari (Hammad), Mian Nawaz Sharif (Taha), Maulana Fazlur Rehman (Mustafa Chaudhry of Banana News Network), Qaim Ali Shah (Shafqat Khan) and Shahbaz Sharif (Umar) will feature in this cheeky production that is laced with innuendo.

Tulin Khalid Azim, who has taken on the mantle of direction, addressing the question on the futuristic subplot noted, “We wanted to give a bit of distance between present day Pakistan and the setting of the play; instead of having it said in the present, it is said in 2030. Basically we wanted to give a bit of breathing space for us creatively speaking and the way to do that was to create this fictitious country called Bananistan which could be anywhere on the planet. It is just that their politicians look and sound strangely like ours.”

As far as the content of the play is concerned, there are many tongue-in-cheek references to things that have happened in the country. “There are a lot of running jokes in the play. Even though it is set in 2030, the audience will recognize things from the news in the last year, or two,” assured director Azim.

Of course, there is also the fact that presenting socio-political ideas in form of satire can bring some semblance of risk to the artists involved. Even though it’s done in a humourous manner, you never know who gets offended by what in this country.

Talking about the subject in question and the way it is dealt with in the play, Azim explained that the play is more than ugly caricatures.  “It is meant to be taken with a pinch of salt. We’ve taken a lot of license with how we have portrayed the politicians and given them, as much as we could, 3D characters, [and] not confining them to one-dimensional caricatures. We wanted them to be real people, each having their own flavour, on stage who the audience can look at and identify with.”

Moving on to the cast, with some alumni from Siachen and some newcomers, the mix is an exceptional and potent one.

Among them is thespian Saqib Sumeer, who is playing the role of Altaf Hussain and has also co-written the script. Elaborating on the whole process of scripting the play, Saqib, while speaking to Instep, said, “It took us three months to complete the script. After we sat on the initial concept, it was a tough task to keep a balance between things. For the audience to make sense of it, it was important to incorporate jokes from routine life too along with a lot of political jokes. It is pure entertainment and there is nothing to be taken personally.”

Mustafa Chaudhry of Banana News Network has also been roped in to contribute to the script as well as act in the play. Essaying the role of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Mustafa is of the view that our politicians have a great sense of humour since he is friends with many of them. “We are representing our politicians by showcasing their performance in a satirical and comical way,” explained Chaudhry. “People aren’t politically aware [and] this play is aimed at educating the audience. We want to convey that a political leader is not untouchable. The story is beautiful; I am sure people will love it and really enjoy it.”

Dawar Mehmood, who is also playing the role of Imran Khan in the play, claims that Bananistan will be a huge success if it doesn’t get banned after a few shows.

“I’ve never been this confident about any other play but I am sure this one will do really well if it keeps running as planned,” he asserted.

The play will run from August 25 till October 24 at the Karachi Arts Council.

Kopykats’ previous productions like Pawnay 14 August, Sawa 14 August and the most recent Siachen had been penned by Anwar Maqsood and were hugely successful. However, Bananistan remains the exception and is penned by Dawar Mehmood himself. “Anwar sahab is our guru and will always be, we are in no competition with him,” he maintained.

Set to open tonight, the play looks promising and will certainly provide a barrel of laughs. To quote its creator: “Come, laugh, go home, that’s it!”