Play ‘Pagalpur’ unfolds madness for money, power and discrimination

Islamabad :The Lahore-based Curtain Call staged ‘Pagalpur’, a meaningful experimental play, Wednesday night at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in connection with the 12th National Theatre Festival to mark the 70th anniversary celebration of the country.
The young team of dramatists quite successfully unfolded the people’s madness for money, power and discrimination, and violation of the basic rights of the marginalised ones. Written and directed by Muhammad Anis and Aziz Zulfiqar, the play turned to be one of the best in terms of performance and content while depicting the ‘the haves and the have nots’.
Starring in the play were Muhammad Amin, Muhammad Nadeem, Muhammad Ahmed, and Asad Asif. The story revolves around the five inhabitants of a mental hospital who reflect upon the crazy behaviours of the people living outside the room in the open world. Symbolically, the play highlights the contrary notions about the people that is making the society a hypocritical and insane one. Another play ‘Satroo Nakhan’ was a grassroots level story reflecting the passion and love for the motherland.
Directed by Sabir Khan and adapted from a folk tale by Shabbir Hussain, the play promoted the traditional values and ethnic identity of the Gilgit-Baltistan through different situations, costumes and music. The play was concluded with the recitation of national anthem that reflected their association with the land. Talking about the plays and the theatre festival, the PNCA senior consultant Munir Ahmed said, “National cohesive thinking and identity could only be emerged through frequent exchange of cultural realities of the federating units.