Punjabi play at GCU

LAHORE: Government College University’s Dramatics Club (GCUDC) has ventured to stage a Punjabi play after a long gap of twelve years, which brings to life the sights and sounds of a cinema culture that has been long lost.

They play, Akhri Show (The Last Show), written by eminent philosopher Prof Mirza Ather Baig, unfolds a tale of the transition from traditional Punjabi cinemas to the modern corporate cinemas.

According to a press release, the story of the play captures the quickly fading cinema culture which affords the audience a peek into the past and they get to see the glimpses of various modulations of culture. Directed by GCUDC Adviser Irfan Randhawa, the play shows many lives that are roped in with the last show at the Kings' Cinema on a cold winter evening.

GCU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Hassan Amir Shah was the chief guest at the opening day of the play which received an overwhelming response from the spectators who remarked that they never felt detached for a moment from the situation projected before them.

The characters of cinema house manager, gatekeeper, pickpocket, cold drinks seller, beggar and showbiz reporter played by Salman Tahir, Najam ul Saqib, Ali Usman Bajwa, Shiekh Mubashir, Seemab Shafique and Zoha Shahzad received a standing ovation.

The cast of the play also included Sohail Mayo, Basit Shafique, Sohail Sher Ali, Laique Ahmad Hamza Saleem, Agha Daud Khan, M. Atif Kamal Muntazir and Nihal Kazmi. Speaking on the occasion, Prof Dr Hassan Amir Shah appreciated the invaluable efforts put in by GCUDC for the survival of the glorious theatrical traditions in GCU Lahore. He appreciated that the play was a complete show of GCU Dramatics as no technical or any other kind of support was hired from outside. He also laid stress on revival of decent Punjabi cinema which one could watch with his family. The play's set was quite embellished and fairly complex. The Art Director Amna Anwaar Khan and her team from the Dramatics Club made the set aesthetically appealing and quite life-like. Irtaza Aslam managed the lights addressing the demands of different scenes.

Design conference: UX Pakistan 2019 was the 3rd iteration of the annual design conference held by the Design Society at LUMS in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science, Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering (SBASSE) and the Computer-Human Interaction Lab at LUMS.

According to a press release issued on Thursday, the event was directed by Dr Suleman Shahid with workshops conducted recently. The conference aimed to open conversations about new innovative ways good design could help solve major problems in Pakistan such as digital literacy, public awareness about key issues and addressing diversity through various mediums including applications, virtual and augmented reality, games and storytelling through digital and non-digital channels.