Theatre-loving communities and other people will celebrate the World Theatre Day on March 27 (Tuesday) across the world, including Pakistan, with a pledge to revive the dying traditions of folk theatre.
The World Theater Day was first observed in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute and is celebrated annually by the international theatre communities.
Various national and international theater events are organised every year to celebrate the day for increasing intercultural awareness. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of World Theatre Day that serves as a strong medium of education and awareness occupying a unique place among performing arts with reflection and identification of social evils in an entertaining way. “The history of theater is connected with the history of human society and it also leads to revolutions in shaping the society,” said Hassan Abbas Raza, supervisor of theatre activities at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). He told APP that the folk theatre was losing its identity and was travelling in the index of dying arts in Pakistan, but the establishment of various private theatre groups and interest of youngsters in this form of performing art had given a hope to the theatre trends. During the last two years, the PNCA arranged a month-long drama festivals few times while another theatre festival was also scheduled in May this year to keep the theatre tradition alive and give an opportunity to the youngsters for taking part in theatre-related activities, he stated.
