With the theatre scene gradually growing in Pakistan, more and more plays are being created and performed to enthrall theatre lovers across the country. Amidst some of the productions that are scheduled to premiere in the coming days and months, there is one called Apartment # 746 which is an Urdu adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s farcical play, Black Comedy. Written by Talal Jilani, the upcoming play follows the story of a guy named Abbas while it has been directed by Syed Meesam Raza Naqvi.
“It is relevant to the current situation of our country,” writer of the play, Syed Talal Jilani told Instep in a telephonic conversation. “It’s a chaotic play with slapstick jokes but is also relevant to our part of the world and highlights issues such as load shedding, marriage, etc.”
Speaking of the challenges they faced while adapting the play and keeping it relevant to Pakistan at the same time, Talal shared, “There were a couple of things that we needed to modify in terms of style and relevance because originally it was written for another audience. We wanted to create something that Pakistani audience wished to see in theatre aside from comedy. It will be a roller coaster ride and caters to people from all age groups.”
Apartment # 746 revolves around the life of Abbas as he prepares to host the father of his love interest who is visiting him on the same day as a potential investor who is interested in buying his paintings.
Reflecting on the current theatre scene in Pakistan, Talal added, “It was very important to break the current pace of theatre in Pakistan. The actual essence of theatre hasn’t developed here yet and if it’s there, it’s very little. So, we wanted to pull audiences to theatre, allowing them a break from TV shows and giving them something to take back home.
It was very challenging; it took us about three months to maintain the essence of theatre and keep the adaptation entertaining at the same time. This is what will make Apartment # 746 unique.”
Apartment # 746 features Syed Talal Jilani as Abul Hasan, Zarqa Naz as Shakeela Begum, Muhammad Muneeb Baig as Abbas, Fajir Sheikh as Amna, Sabihah Zia as Zara, Faraz Ali as Zaviaar and Fraz Chhotani as Ibrahim Qureshi, among others. The play opens in Karachi next month where it will run for over 20 days before moving to other cities.
