Shahid Mehmood Nadeem, director at the Ajoka Theatre on Thursday delivered a lecture on representation of workers rights and labour movements in theatre at the Labour Party of Pakistan’s office. Shahid spoke about the problems faced by theatre actors and writers and their efforts to promote thoughts of the working class movement within the public.
He said theatre could play a significant role in helping people understand problems and think about life. “Workers issues are not just those related to worker’s movement,” he said. “They are diverse, in fact they are issues many can relate with. Gender based violence, ethnic or sectarian issues, and religious extremism,” he said.
He also highlighted Ajoka’s role in promoting such ideas and mentioned “Juloos” as a classic. In recent plays by Ajoka, religious extremism, regional violence and promotion of Sufism was addressed. These included Burkavaganza, Toba Tek Singh, Border Border, Bullah and Dara.
