The National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) organized its Performing Arts Festival 2012 from March 1 to 11. They had started with a bang and concluded in a blaze of glory with its sixth and final production ‘Equus, acclaimed as one of the most brilliant plays to be produced in modern day Pakistani theatre.
The three-hour-long play set itself apart with its unique style of presentation and flawless execution. Directed by Sunil Shankar, it has been translated into Urdu by both Shankar and Nazarul Hassan.
It’s a story of a 17-year-old boy Alan Strang, played by Ishtiaq Rasool, who ends up blinding six horses in a stable where he used to work. However, the different layers of depth are revealed in Strang’s treatment by a psychiatrist Martin Dysart (Nazarul Hassan).
‘Equus’ ran for three hours but time passed in the blink of an eye and the audience remained into totally absorbed and involved. The mind blowing performance of Hassan, who played the difficult role of Drysart, a paedophiliac therapist with apparent ease, was well and truly appreciated.
The usually dark and gloomy campus of the NAPA remained lit up with decorative lights during the entire length of the institute’s first ever theatre festival. An auditorium packed to the brim with an enthusiastic audience in the opening ceremony was testimony that the festival was long-awaited in the metropolis.
The event started with brief speeches by some of the disinguished theatre veterans who are also senior faculty members at NAPA.
“Theatre is a huge blessing because it challenges our thought process, forcing us to question things,” Zia Mohyeddin, the NAPA President, remarked adding that the theatre festival has been a goal of the Academy ever since it was formed.
Rahat Kazmi, who is the head of the theatre department, was happy to note that the youth has finally has taken charge.
“A time comes when the older generation has to make way for newer faces and that is why we (faculty members) have completely eliminated ourselves from the festival so that the graduates take the onus from here,” he stated.
The festival kicked off with an impressive and experimental performance ‘Mein Muntazir Hoon’ by final year students of Napa, who portrayed the various issues of today’s youth. Directed by the Special Programmes Manager Zain Ahmed, the play starred Ishtiaq Rasool, Waqar Naaem, Raheel Ahmed and Hameeruddin whereas its music was composed by Ahsan Rabbani and Arsalan Rabanni.
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