This isnt The Theatre of War
Last week is a long,long time ago in Kabul,which is when the last bomb explosion happened in the capital of Afghanistan. But members of Parwaz,a puppet theatre group from Kabul are wholly immersed in play rehearsals.
4 min read
Last week is a long,long time ago in Kabul,which is when the last bomb explosion happened in the capital of Afghanistan. But members of Parwaz,a puppet theatre group from Kabul are wholly immersed in play rehearsals. We prefer to look ahead to performing inIndia which well be visiting for the first time, says Ahmad Nasir Formuli,25,of the group. Parwazs plays The Wolf and the Goat and The Hedgehog and the Rabbit will be staged at the ongoing Bharat Rang Mahotsav,the annual festival of the National School of Drama. Parwaz isnt the only group from a conflict zone participating. From Israel comes a clown show called Odysseus Chaoticus and Pakistan is presenting the Urdu version of Kalidass epic Shakuntala .
When the bombs go off,all of us freeze in mid-dialogue. But only for a few seconds; we start acting immediately and try to ignore everything else, says Formuli. Their 70-minute play is a rendition of Afghan animal fables capturing the innocence of childhood. In The Wolf and the Goat,the mother goat fights a wolf which has captured her kids. We perform in schools. Children love it because they rarely see puppets, adds Formuli,who was a child during the Soviet Union occupation of Afghanistan. Surprisingly,many girls audition for theatre in Kabul. Parwaz itself has two women actors. There are a handful of theatre groups in Kabul but acting isnt a career option,says Formuli,because of the war. He is supported by his family but soon,he will need to get a job and quit acting.
Theatre director Zain Ahmed is grimly aware that the war against terror is dangerously close,yet far enough away from Karachi,his hometown. Culture is the first casualty of war. Theatre has been affected in Lahore,Islamabad and Peshawar but in Karachi,which is in the south of Pakistan,things are still peaceful and we draw huge crowds, he says. Shakuntala,performed by actors from the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) in Karachi had packed houses at the 450-seater Arts Council auditorium. And nobody questioned why a Pakistani group was tackling a Sanskrit classic. Shakuntala is as much a part of Pakistans culture as Indias. Pakistan wasnt born on a blank slate,it is on this land that Hindu and Muslim influences merged and influenced each other, says Ahmed,37.
His Shakuntala is an experimental work of 90 minutes based on an Urdu translation. There is limited dialogue and we have concentrated on telling the story of love,separation and re-union through dances, he explains. The treatment is modern,though one can see glimpses of Bharatanatyam and Kathak in the choreography. Being a NAPA production,funds werent a problem. Most theatre actors in Pakistan depend on TV or teaching for a living. We live in troubled times,but that doesnt mean that we stop working, he says.
In Tel Aviv,Fyodor Makarov,34,would agree,with a laugh. He is one of the three clowns from the Israeli capital who will stage Odysseus Chaoticus,a humorous dig at Homers epic. We were trying to create something that has no relation with everyday reality, he says. In the play,the protagonist fights the ennui of everyday life by escaping into a fantasy world in which he is a hero of legendary proportions. The play has no dialogues actors talk in gibberish so that words do not detract from the exaggerated and energetic clown actions. In a country,where absent-minded commuters often find their bags blown to smithereens by the anti-bomb squad,the play about a daydreamer has gone down well. Odysseus Chaoticus has had 80 productions in one year and the India trip will be followed by tours of Canada,Colombia and Europe. The show,as the showmen say,must go on.
The Wolf and The Goat and The Hedgehog and The Rabbit will be staged on January 13 at SammukhOdysseus Chaoticus will be staged on January 15 at LTGShakuntala will be staged on January 17 at LTG
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