Jumbo Editorial Team
“Karachiites are the best! They come and they mostly pay for their tickets, watch it, understand it and finally enjoy it to the core. We really appreciate this crowd,” Javed Ahmed Saeedi, Director of the famed play ‘Avanti’ replied rather promptly to the media when questioned about the city garnering the best crowd in town.
“The main aim of this press conference is to tell you that performing arts is still alive and this I can say with the response we have received here in Karachi,” he started off while talking to the media corps at the auditorium of the Arts Council of Pakistan which was alive and vibrant with the presence of the cast of ‘Avanti’ having taken the stage once more.
But instead of being involved in its usual shenanigans, the ‘Avanti’ team had invited members of the press to thank them for their ongoing support and discuss the issues plaguing the theatre industry in Pakistan.
“People in Karachi are avid theatre fans. What is being showcased in Lahore these days is out of context. The changes taking place in Lahore could be blamed on the culture of cheap commercial theatre having taken root within the city,” Javed Saeedi reckoned.
He noted that the response is greater in Islamabad than in Karachi, as more people come to view theatre with the idea that the entry should be free of charge.
He pointed out that the theatre industry in every other part of the world is big and has government support which helps with tax collection.
“It is a sad sight that although there are four theatre auditoriums available in Karachi, only the Arts Council auditorium is fully operational,” he regretted.
He felt that despite his efforts to broaden the minds of the general public, their response to Pakistani theatre remains more or less the same, adding that there’s still a segment of society that thinks it is odd for us to be a part of the theatrical industry.
“That trend has sort of picked up in the city so we stood on those grounds. We wanted to add many flavours to the play; besides a lot of foreigners have come over to see the play, so it is easier for everyone to understand,” he explained when inquired why ‘Avanti’ was primarily in English, with Urdu only being used in some comic scenes.
He promised to bring another play called 'Cinder-Jatt' to the city of lights, which will be an adaptation of the fairytale ‘Cinderella’.
The success of 'Avanti' in Karachi should encourage him and his unit to come up with an even bigger play. Such exciting plays would indeed be welcomed by generally entertainment-starved citizens of the metropolis.
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