Theatre festival goes serious with ‘Ikhtiyar’ and ‘Anarkali Se Aage’

Due to the weekend, the Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP) held two theatre plays, ‘Ikhtiyar’ and ‘Anarkali Se Aage’, under the Pakistan Theatre Festival 2023 on Saturday. Both the plays were serious.

The first play, which dealt with the lifelong struggle of a man, was written by Meesam Naqvi and directed by Sheryl John. The actors included Owais Rehan, Alina, Husnain and Manal.

According to the ACP, ‘Ikhtiyar’ unraveled the significance of resilience as its protagonist faces multiple societal and familial pressures, and his marriage has been strained after a miscarriage.

The other play was set during the uprising of Bhagat Singh and his associates in the colonial era. It was written by Abdul Rehman and directed by Fawad Khan.

‘Anarkali Se Aage’ had only two characters —Baldev Singh, a Sikh, and Riaz Ali, a Muslim. They are students who are worried due to police raids in the aftermath of the murder of a while police officer presumably by the group led by Bhagat.

The play depicted the psyche of worried and frustrated youths doomed to live in a colonial rule.

The theatre festival will also offer two plays today (Sunday). The first play, Fareb, is an adaptation of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal and directorial debut of Muneeb Sheikh, an actor trained by the ACP theatre academy who has enacted multiple roles on stage as well as screen.

The second play, Shaam Bhi Thi Dhuan Dhuan, is a romantic drama written by Rafiq Anjum and directed by Paras Masroor, who tries to find time for theatre despite his acting projects for television.