Ajoka drama festival attracts crowds

Lahore

The second edition of Ajoka Theatre’s annual youth drama feast is attracting young crowds every day in Bukhari Auditorium at Government College University Lahore.

Festival titled “Empower Youth Festival”, on its third day, highlighted substantial social issues confronted by society in recent times.

Apart from Ajoka troupe, teams from Punjab University, LUMS, Agricultural University, Actor Studio Karachi and Sangat Theatre Group are among participants and festival has created a competitive environment between the young performers. 

On the third day, Dramatic Society of Punjab University presented “Ghulam,”  Written and directed by Sibt-e-Hasan. “Ghulam” sets in the time of Partition, looks beyond the divisions of caste and creed and raises the question: are we free or still Ghulam?

Actor Studio Karachi presented a strong political play titled “Kuttey” about a liberating dictatorship and its efforts to subjugate the populace it purports to liberate. The play is based on a starving man and his traumatised wife seeking solace from the dictatorship, but instead they are fed a diet of promises and slogans.

Teams from LUMS and Sangat Group had gained the praise on the second day. “Shehr-e-Asaib” by Dramaline of LUMS revolved around a group of friends discussing the current issues, followed by their personal stories which highlighted the hypocrisy and double standards. The track is intertwined with the story of a poor family and leads to unexpected and shocking results.

“Chog Kusambay di” written by Najam Hussain Syed was based on Baba Bulleh Shah’s kafi. It’s a song of women picking Kusamba flowers. Kusamba is a flower used to extract red dye but red is not just a colour, thus Kusamba becomes a symbol of falsehood in Punjabi tradition. The kaafi is very dramatic and all the characters become alive by verse in the play as the flower pickers face exploitation and rebel in the end. All the plays are excellent examples of the rich mix of enjoyable form and thought-provoking socially relevant content. The festival is gaining special recognition from the students and teachers of GCU and theatre lovers of the City.