LAHORE – 2011’s first play, Sabz, written and directed by Abdullah Farhatullah was an impressive piece, which delighted the audience. The play was a story of a two young men who were part of a cast in a small theatre play.
Their teacher (played by Farhat himself) was trying to get the theatre owner to let them get on with their play, but the owner wanted something with more (cheap) dances, to attract the audience. This the teacher did not want to incorporate. His play was based on something on the lines of Pakistan and its problems.
What invited the wit and humour to kick in were the one liners and the questions that one of the actors Naveed kept asking the teacher or discussing with his friend Mansoor. Excellent writing by Farhatullah made it successfully funny.
It was in the middle that the play took a subtle turn towards the serious, when Naveed, the ever funny, “loser” who did not seemingly respect the country enough, and Mansoor, who was the level headed “good kid” who kept defending Pakistan, suddenly ‘exchanged’ characters!
All of a sudden, Naveed began to sympathise with the country and Mansoor began to question the integrity of the Pakistani people and mention the futility of trying to fix the problems here. This was a remarkable feat by the two actors who managed to subtly change their perspective without changing their characters altogether.
The play was decorated with very interesting dance sequences, (it was the very first Urdu musical). The dances were great with awe striking acrobatic moves, and good original songs. Farhat’s attempt at interacting with the audience was a good one.
He made some actors run through the audience and pass some sweets to them, in one dance sequence. One could see that those who had come were having a wonderful time, and for many this was probably the first experience of a musical. The end was funny albeit serious if seen between the lines.
The play is to continue till January 11, at Al-hamra. A must watch for both young and old people, this play is entertaining, and carrries a message with it too and Farhatullah managed to break the monotony of Lahore in ages.
