Curtain falls elegantly on Youth Performing Arts Festival

The third day of enthusiastic and extravagant performances at the 13^th Youth Performing Arts Festival concluded with bright responses from the energetic audience and visitors from all walks of life on Saturday October 18.

The three-day festival decorated vividly with culturally diverse stalls and performances received the largest number of audiences on its last day. Families, students, youth and various showbiz personalities were seen roaming around the venue making the aura livelier at the Alhamra Cultural Complex Qaddafi.

The festival pursued its preceding two-day format showcasing the theatrical performances, mimes and short films by students of Forman Christian College (FCC), Beaconhouse National University (BNU),Locomania Productions, University of Engineering and Techonology (UET), National Centre for Excellence Jamshoro, Islamia University of Bahawalpur, The City School and Beaconhouse School System Johar Town.

The day kicked off by the theatre performance put up by FCC, ‘KabTak’. The plot highlighted the issue of ill-treatment towards the minorities by the society. The main character of the play was a Christian jobless man who is exploited by the police who tag him as a terrorist after which he is subjected to torture and abuse by the intelligence agencies despite the fact that he is innocent. The play delivers the message of the importance of minority rights in the society.

Another, highlight of the evening was the performance by the students of National Centre for Excellence in Analytical Chemistry Jamshoro, who put up a classical dance and a mime performance. The theme of the mime was the 1947 partition. The main theme of the show was how Pakistani nation is fighting with each other having forgotten the efforts put for the independence of the country.

Students of UET performed a play titled ‘Bus Stop’ which highlighted the issue of installing substandard CNG cylinders and negligence of the Transport department. The main character of the play was Haji Sageer Ahmad. The CNG cylinder fitted in his vehicle becomes the reason for the killing of numerous people in a blast. One day, a journalist who is waiting for a bus at a stop where Sagheer arrives to wait for his children. Unfortunately, a blast occurs in the vehicle in which Sagheer’s children were coming as a result of which he loses his sanity.

BNU students performed a play titled ‘Would You Press It’ which was based upon the impacts of capitalism on an individual.

The final concluding performance of the day was by Locomania Productions titled ‘Sard’. The performance was based upon the excerpts of Sadaat Hassan Manto’s ‘Neeli Ragain’ and Rajinder Singh Bedi’s ‘Naql-e-Makani’. The main character of the performance portrayed by Khurram Nawaz Sheikh was in an absurd conversation with his unconscious, played by Sohayb Pasha. The theme of the play was to depict the disturbances created within one’s mind for wanting something which is tagged prohibited by the society like the forbidden charm of the beauty of an unknown. The performance presented a different genre in the theatrical realm at the festival.

“Rafi Peer deserves a lot of credit for providing us with a platform to showcase our budding ideas and performance style on a large scale with the limitations of finances,” said Khurram. “Moreover the festival has marked the beginning of a new generation in the theatre circle of Pakistan where performing arts has become widespread throughout the country through Youth Performing Arts Festival,” he added.

Followed by the theatrical performing, the musical performances of underground bands served as a real treat to the audiences. Poor Rich Boy, Jumbo Jutt, Natasha, Ejaz, Humaira, Ali Sohail, Takatak enthralled audiences largely consisting of youth and families on the last day of 13th Youth Performing Arts Festival.

“The festival was full of surprising performances and spectacular arrangements by the organisers. From the food stalls to the lively décor, everything kept us wanting more. We can’t wait for the festival to return next year with an up heaved level,” said Bella Minhas, a student attending the festival.