Ullu Aur Billi opens at NAPA

Karachi : While the National Academy of Performing Arts is known, and often criticized for, its classical take on theatre and all its components, the newest batch of actors, directors, and writers inform their work with their generational concerns and experiences.

The theatre festival NAPA hosts every year concluded in February, but two productions will make a reappearance onstage this weekend and in the coming week.

Starring Hani Taha and Syed Qasim Shah, Ullu Aur Billi is an adaptation of Manhoff’s The Owl And The Pussycat. While Saqib Khan and Uroosa Siddiqui translated the script during their time at the academy, Ansaar Mahar has brought his own interpretation of the plot, rendering the production in darker shades than it has been before.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the fact that this particular adaptation has been directed by a member of a younger demographic, the nuances of Ullu Aur Billi are starkly different from the sweetly sardonic original play and its film adaptation.

Director Ansaar Mahar notes that once he started working on the execution, he realized the story was far from wholesome. The Mahar adaptation does focus on the relationship between Naina and Sharafat – the pussycat and the owl – but dives into the intricacies of gender and balance of power within intimate relationships.

Of course, while gender politics is a global theme and concern, perhaps the insight for Mahar comes from his Pakistani roots, where gender norms and narratives are still largely patriarchal and controlled.

Completely worth the Rs 600 you will spend on the ticket, Ullu Aur Billi is well-written, well-directed, and the two leads, Hani Taha and Qasim Shah are literally untapped mines of talent and potential. You will laugh through most of the play’s runtime, and then feel your own mood shift, as the play’s does.