Independent Theatre Pakistan (ITP) finally told its 3 Kahaniyan at Alhamra Arts Council on Monday.
A set of three different plays, written by three different playwrights, that were 30 minutes each, were divided into three acts.
Act 1 was Bu, written and directed by Ayesha Mohsin, who debuted as theatre director in Pakistan through this story.
Act 2 Sammi Di War, written in Saraiki was adapted from the famous writer Najam Hosein Syed’s story and directed by Mehreen, the art director of ITP. Veteran actor Rashid Mahmood is one of the main cast members.
Act 3 Badshahat ka Khatma was adapted from the famous yet controversial writer Manto and directed by the founder and creative director of ITP Azeem Hamid.
The performances attracted an adequate amount of audiences who had mixed reviews.
Mugeese Ahsan, one of the spectator really enjoyed the performances and appreciated them.
“Brilliant play. It was something intense, something that we don’t see usually. It covered the darkness of the society and things that we usually ignore. Like in the first play, BU, we were given that perspective of people who work hard in the factories. This shows that people go through psychotic breakdown and people who do not interact with society cannot interact with the society. I really liked the last play, Badshahat ka Khatma, it was more of a fun.”
Ayesha Khizar, mother of one of the cast members of Sammi Di Vaar Hafsa Khizar also appreciated the effort put up by ITP. “It was a good effort. We really enjoyed it while watching live performance. It was my first experience.”
However not everyone enjoyed the performances completely.
Sadia Altaf, another spectator although liked the acting, suggested that they should have given subtitles for Sammi Di War. “I didn’t understand anything! I don’t speak Saraiki. There were no subtitles. It was a good effort, the actors acted very well. The duration was very good. But the thing is that we are supposed to have subtitle for a language which we don’t speak.”
Sana Talat had the same suggestion. “They could have made use of the screen at the back for subtitles to give some idea of the story for a better understanding. First one, Bu, was good. It was very deep and you could derive any meaning from it. It was good.”
Event sponsorship and costume design is done by Sapphire, Hair & Makeup by Depilex – Beauty Clinic & Institute. Pakistan Today | Paperazzi Magazine are media partners while Radio 1 FM91 Music Is My Lifeline is the radio partner.
3 Kahaniyan will continue till December 3 at Alhamra Arts Council, Mall Road, Hall #2 from 7:00 pm – 10:00pm.
