Prior to the start of the National Academy of Performing Arts’ (Napa) Young Director’s Festival, the theatre institute had come under considerable criticism for showcasing plays that succumbed to the curse of bland mediocrity.
The opening act of the festival this year, made a tongue-in-cheek reference to this ongoing problem through the play, Khel Khel Mein. The production, which has been directed by Napa alumnus Akbar Islam, was based on an original script written by Khalid Ahmed.
Khel Khel Mein follows a group of thespians in a rehearsal. Having grown sick and tired of performing the same type of plays day in and day out, the troupe urges their director, Ravi (Akbar Islam), to come up with something new and exciting. While on the lookout for a story, the cast encounter Samina (Mizna Waqas) who eventually serves as the muse for the director.
The homely Samina’s backstory eventually serves as the premise for the ‘play within the play’ that touches upon the difficulties and obstacles women have to face in a largely patriarchal society.
Although the clichéd theme is at the heart of the performance, another theme ingrained within the play is the difficulties artistes and performers encounter when undertaking a creative task.
Zain Ahmed, the artistic director of the institute, stated that this is a recurring theme that plays out in the life of every artist. “Not only does it apply to Napa, but also to anyone else who is trying to do some creative work. We have to find our way and figure out our own stories.”
According to Zain, one of the major aims of the festival is to bring forth new stories and storytellers — a fact that has been highlighted in the play through the characters of Samina and Ravi. “What people have seen so far at Napa are performers perfecting their techniques and learning how to perform plays; we are not focusing so much on what the content should be.”
Lighting was used smartly to show the transition between the multiple narratives within the play. Islam also tried to experiment a little by breaking the fourth wall with characters often making an appearance from within the audience. While this may have seemed exciting at first, its repeated use might have been a little too distracting for some.
Defending his decision to break the fourth wall in a play which has already complicated the narrative with multiple layers and storylines, Islam reasoned, “I think it was necessary because of the very fact that you have two performances happening at the same time. We are constantly shifting between the past and present and talking about topics which people won’t listen to or pay attention to otherwise. Thus it was important for me to develop an interaction with the audience,” he added.
Islam said very few alterations were made to the script, that too with Khalid’s consent. “Some of the things had become outdated; therefore, it was important to change them. The essence of the story was intact.”
Khel Khel Mein also stars Hamza Sheikh, Husnain Afzal, Aqeel Ahmed, Balaj Khan, Ayesha Iqbal, Sehrish Qadeer, Najma Qifayat and Faraz Sheikh. It has been produced under the banner of Aim Theatricals.