A dig into ancient Roman times

Napa stages play set amid the early Roman era when Palestine was a Roman domain

Theatregoers were treated to a delightful dig into the Roman past with ‘Yahudi Ki Larki’, a play by Agha Hashr Nasir, at the Napa auditorium on Thursday evening.

The play is set amid the early Roman era when Palestine was a Roman domain. It is the love story of a Roman youth, Prince Marcus, who has a crush on the Jewish beauty Rahil.

It was a play marked by vocal musical interludes by a chorus, joined in by the cast.

It is, in short, a story of how people would go through the most strenuous of rigmaroles when in love to attain the object of their admiration. The Roman prince Marcus impersonates as a Jew to win the love of the object of his admiration, a Jewish girl, Rahel.

Life is a carnival for both of them. They love and feel the thrill of it. They are happy till there comes the time of their marriage when Brutus, the Christian priest , is going to bind them in wedlock. He insists that Rahel change her religion from Judaism to Christianity, which her father, Ezra, the Jew, resolutely refuses and the romance falls apart. 

It is a profound commentary on the way religion, despite its sublimity and spiritual refreshment to mankind, has, through the ages, been a wet blanket for people coming together beyond a certain limit. Melancholy developments keep taking place till, towards the end it is found out that Rahel is actually the daughter of Brutus who was rescued by Ezra from Nero’s palace when he was fiddling while Rome burnt.

The play gives us a vivid glimpse into life in ancient Palestine under the Romans.

Fawad Khan as Marcus was an ideal choice for the role given his youthful good looks and posture. So was Maria Saad Faridi as Rahel, given her electrifying, fresh good looks. Both of them infused real power into their roles and performed them real well. But even more powerful fulfillment of the role was by Nazrul Hassan as Ezra, the Jew. His delivery of dialogues was a vivid reflection of a subjugated people, how they are at the mercy of the occupiers and the infamy they have to undergo.

Frequent vocal musical interludes added to the attraction of the play. The musicians were a highly talented lot.