The Anatomy of a performance

Crazy plans, usually, are made in the most calm moments. 

It was on a nice, pre-summer evening, somewhere in early April. It is that time of the year when the weather in Karachi is not monstrous and one can enjoy a smoke and chit chat in the great outdoors (read: terrace) with friends. While conversation flowed between hubby dear, Z and myself, one of us (I forget who) asked rather innocently if we could put up a new narrative performance this year?

The other two nodded nonchalantly at first but with each passing minute the desire to create something overcame all rational thoughts and a performance started materializing. Books were taken off the shelf, dim lights were replaced by reading lamps and the music was turned low. Discussions followed over the merits and demerits of various pieces. Plans were made and the night ended on a high note. 

Days turned into weeks and months and finally the seed that was planted in April took on a serious form in July and by early August the narrative performance was all set to happen. Dates were locked, essays selected and all was well with the world.

Or so it seemed. 

The first task is to choose the right actor for a piece. Matching the actors with the essays sounds like a pretty dangerous task and it is. In our case, thankfully, it isn't. Both our actors usually want the 'other' one to have the better piece. Unbelievable, right? It is such a relief that we usually perform with two actors only otherwise this 'Lucknavi style' of you, no you would just go on forever. 

Rehearsals are not fun when you have the job of deciding the venue, time, arrangements, menu (actors require nourishment), and then also take into account unforeseen events like strike by oil tankers = petrol pumps closed = no petrol = actors can't reach rehearsal. And then also keep your cool! Who said life was fair?

While the rehearsals are going on the rest of the team has to ensure everything else is in place and it doesn't help if it's only a one man team. So while rehearsals happened, it was my job to promote the event and ensure people turn up. There is no surety that people will come and it certainly doesn't help when every night hubby dear wonders out loud if anyone will even come to see the performance. If there is one surety it is the onslaught of nightmares which will continue till the performance. 

The day of the performance is madness, to say the least. Getting everything in order is no easy task. Costumes, props, lights, music etc. Of course one person in the group usually ends up taking most of the stress and that, in our case, is yours truly. 

Post performance is a time for both celebration and a bit of performance appraisal. The former usually happens on the final day and mostly it is more of a collective sigh of relief than anything else. At least until the next time one can bask in the glory of a successful performance (and not check Facebook to see how many likes have come on the pictures/videos every two hours!).

[That one question which started the entire exercise culminated into two nights of great performances by our theatre group, Qissah Farosh. For details, pics and video, click here]. 

Manto - a victim of LOC

The NAPA Repertory Company was in India this week to perform their play, MANTORAMA, at the Bharat Rang Mahotsav Festival, an annual event at the National School of Drama, New Delhi. 

Four hours before the performance, which was sold out (all 500 seats), the NAPA troupe was informed that their play will not go on as scheduled. 

So much has been going on in Pakistan at the moment that the incident at the LOC (line of control)and India's reaction to it has not made waves here. In India though, the case is different. Their media has blown this issue to such gigantic proportions that all bilateral relations between the two countries have come to a halt. We already know about the hockey players and the women's cricket team. But the arts and cultural activities, too, have come under attack. And it was this very reason that the NAPA Repertory was refused permission to stage their play.

It seems that the Indian media and Government conveniently used the LOC incident to sweep their own problems, especially the inefficiency of the Government to handle the grotesque rape case, under the carpet.

This whole episode seems like a chapter from Manto's stories or his life itself. During his lifetime he was persecuted for his stories. And even after his death, he remains the center of conflicts between the two countries. 

Poster: NAPA Repertory Theatre Official Page (Facebook)

I blog, therefore I am.

Three years on the blogosphere calls for some celebration so the blog gets a make-over. Yaaay! 

It’s always fun to walk down memory lane and today, I am raising a toast to all my doings on the beanbag.  Many things happened here. There were musings about teaching, a job I have temporarily called quits, of its joys and tribulations. In case you missed it, I was lucky to host a Literary New Year's Party right here and had many interesting authors as guests including Hunter S. Thompson, Virginia Woolf and even Ibsen.

One of the most interesting events on the beanbag was the 15/15/15 challenge which had me reading faster than a bullet train. There was talk about married life as Hubby dear and myself celebrated our first year of marriage (read here) and even, you won’t believe it, an alien invasion!

Although a discussion on aging is depressing, especially among the female gender, we can’t run away from the inevitable. Here are my thoughts on reaching the infamous big 0 which, honestly, comes in our life a little too quickly. Don’t you agree?

Go on a pictorial journey with me and explore a bit of Lahore. In case you haven’t found time to read it, see Hubby dear playing the cursed Oedipus Rex, in pictorial form, here.

Lastly, I leave you on the beanbag with my first impression of London and some recollections  of both Ibn-e-Insha and myself of London, here.

There are whispers of change, both on and off the beanbag, as I raise a toast of dark chocolate (since there is no Coke, zero or otherwise in the house) to three years of tales on the beanbag.

Care to join?

The new look of beanbagtales - a celebration of the old and the new. 

Photograph: Author

Oedipus Rex - A Pictorial

Hubby dear's final drama exam got done last week and both of us heaved a sigh of relief (me more than him I guess!). For his final drama exam, hubby dear played the role of Oedipus Rex in the Greek tragic play of the same name by Sophocles. The play was performed by the third year students of NAPA (the drama school where hubby dear used to study) and it was done in the classical format of Greek theatre with masks. Hubby dear's performance was great (and no bias here!) as King Oedipus and the play turned out remarkably well (read the review here). Here is a pictorial of the tragedy of Oedipus Rex.

The chorus (citizen of Thebes) with olive branches in their hands, wailing over the misfortunes that have plagued their city.

King Oedipus addressing the citizens of Thebes.

Creon, brother-in-law of Oedipus, tells the King of the oracle's prophecy. Thebes will only be rid of her problems if the murderer of the dead King Laius is either killed or banished.

Oedipus vows to find the murderer of the King he has replaced and carry out the necessary punishment.

The senior citizens of Thebes are puzzled over the prophecy and fear the worst.

Oedipus demands the citizens tell details, if they know any, of King Laius's murder.

Oedipus summons the blind prophet, Tiresias, for help.

Tiresias refuses to answer Oedipus's questions but when provoked by the King, he replies angrily that it is Oedipus, himself, who is responsible for the curse on Thebes. It is he, Oedipus, Tiresias tells all, who is committing the greatest sin; of being a murderer and a bed-fellow of his own mother. 

Oedipus is shocked and angry over Tiresias's accusation.

                     

 Oedipus banishes Tiresias from his castle and accuses him of scheming with his brother-in-law, Creon.

      Creon tries to reason with Oedipus after hearing of the episode with Tiresias. He pleads and argues his innocence but Oedipus refuses to believe his side of the story. He orders that Creon be killed for his betrayal.

Senior citizens of Thebes try to reason with Oedipus who agrees to forgive Creon if only the latter leaves Thebes for good.

      Jocasta, wife of Oedipus and sister of Creon, hears of the argument between the two men. She demands an explanation from Oedipus.

Oedipus tells Jocasta of the prophecy of the Oracle and the scheming between Creon and Tiresias. 

He narrates his own story; how he left his land,Corinth, in order to escape from Apollo's prophecy which declared he would kill his father and sleep with his mother. Thus, he left his father and mother; Polybus and Merope.

Jocasta attempts to comfort Oedipus, telling him not to take prophets seriously. One such prophecy was made for King Laius also. It was foretold that his own son will kill him but all of Thebes knew that he was killed by bandits at a crossroad on the way to Dephi.

On hearing this Oedipus becomes distressed as he, too, had passed that road on his way from Corinth and laid to death a man whose appearance resembled that of Laius as mentioned by Jocasta. 

One man accompanying the King that day was alive. Only he could tell whether it was Oedipus who had killed Laius or a band of robbers, as everyone believed.

Oedipus ordered Jocasta to summon that man.

In the meanwhile a messenger arrives from Corinth, bearing news of the death of King Polybus.

Oedipus is relieved but distressed. His father died from natural causes but his mother, Merope, is alive and thus, the prophecy remains unfulfilled.

        The messenger tells Oedipus not to fear as both Polybus and Merope were not his biological parents. It was the messenger himself who delivered the child into the arms of Merope many years ago.

The messenger was formerly a shepherd on Mount Cithaeron and it was there that a shepherd from the Laius household gave him the baby. The baby's legs were bound with rope, the marks of which are on Oedipus's knee.

    Jocasta, realizing the truth, pleads with Oedipus not to investigate the matter any further as the truth will be devastating for all. But Oedipus persists in his search for the truth.

A distressed Jocasta leaves Oedipus and rushes into the castle.

     The shepherd is brought to the King. He begs Oedipus not to question him about the child but when the King threatens him, the shepherd reveals all. It was Oedipus whom Jocasta had handed over to the shepherd to dispose off so that the prophecy might never come true.

Oedipus curses fate and himself on hearing the truth and disappears into the castle.

Shortly afterwards, a messenger brings news to the people of Thebes that their Queen, Jocasta, killed herself. Oedipus went into a blind rage on seeing her dead and took the golden pins from her dress and stuck them into his eyes.

                                                              Oedipus - a sorry spectacle.

Oedipus asks Creon to banish him from the kingdom and thus, fulfill the prophecy.

Creon, who arrives just after the sad event of his sister's death, refuses to take any step without consulting the Gods first.

                                                                                                                                           

Oedipus begs Creon to look after  his two daughters. He laments on how this curse will ruin their lives and asks Creon to watch over them.Creon promises before sending Oedipus inside the castle. 

And this marked the end of Hubby dear's three years in NAPA. It was a long journey (for both of us) and I  am extremely proud of him! But his journey has only begun and we are greatly looking forward to all the exciting things that the future holds! :)

'Khel Jari Hai' plays on well in Karachi!

The Poster

Have you ever wondered what it takes to bring a theatre play to life? How rehearsals are done and what are the dynamics of the relationship among the actors behind the stage? Both these questions were answered in NAPA Repertory Theatre’s latest play, ‘Khel Jari Hai’, an adaptation of Rick Abbot’s famous comedy play, ‘Play On’. The play was adapted in Urdu by Babar Jamal, a NAPA student, and directed by Rahat Kazmi.

In a nutshell ‘Khel Jari Hai’ revolves around a group of actors who are trying to put together a murder mystery play but things aren’t coming together as smoothly as the director wishes them to. The play is due to be staged in a few days and most of the actors don’t remember their cues. There are also problems with the set design, the sound and the props, especially the wall mounted safe. Nothing appears to be ready for the final performance. To make matters worse the playwright keeps making last minute changes in the script, hence compounding the frustration of the entire cast and director. What follows is a funny and often bordering on sarcasm, war of words between the actors, director and the playwright.

Even though the concept of the play was rather strange (it was a play within a play!), the actors pulled it off quite decently. It was rather a big cast and almost all of them (minus one or two) were constantly on the stage. Akbar Islam was very comfortable in his role as the director who tries to keep everybody happy without losing his cool. It was very refreshing to see Bakhtawar Mazhar perform a comedic role (she was a senior actor within the play and threw some brilliant tantrums!) and she showed, yet again, what a versatile actress she is. Ali Kazmi and Mehwish Siddique were the lovers both in the play and within the play! Mehwish was spontaneous; both with her dialogue and body language and her colourful costumes brightened up the stage. It was Ali Sheikh who had the audience cracking up with his crisp dialogue delivery and sarcastic one-liners. Rauf Afridi was the ‘pathan’ sound and light man in the play and he, also, had the audience laughing. It was a pity his role was so small but even then he left a memorable impression.

A major disappointment in the play was the lighting. It was really nothing special and left much to be desired. The brochure and the poster were also amateurish and a tad bit tacky. The set, on the other hand, was very nicely done; in fact, it was like a mini theatre within the arts council!

A large number of people had turned out to see the play which was very encouraging. There are not many avenues of entertainment for us Karachites (besides the food joints) and in this time of inflation and stress a good laugh is always welcome! So, Play On NAPA!

'A mini-theatre within the arts council'

'War of the words between Director (Akbar Islam, far left ) & sound man (Rauf Afridi, far right in blue)

'The playwright announces changes in the script yet again!'
(L-R: Bakhtawar Mazhar, Sayem, Mehwish Siddique, Afsheen Hayat, Zarina Ahmed, Ali Kazmi, Ali Sheikh)

'Trouble at the dress rehearsal'

(L-R; Akbar Islam, Mehwish Siddique, Tanwir Abbas, Ali Sheikh)

Tennessee William in Karachi (The Glass Menagerie)

What do you get when you combine a whining son, a nostalgic mother, a crippled sister and a prospective suitor? No, not a soap on Star Plus (although I’m sure there must be something like this going on in one of the dramas) but a theatre play. With the wedding festivities over, hubby dear and myself managed to catch the play, ‘Dil ka kya Rang karoon’ by the NAPA repertory company.

The play was an adaptation of William Tennessee’s, ‘The Glass Menagerie’. It revolves around four characters (five actually if you count the father who is omnipresent in the form of a portrait) set in the 1930s. It portrays the life of an American household during the Great Depression. The Urdu adaptation was set in Karachi during the 1960s.

As the curtain lifted and the lights came on, the set came to life and I was blown away. I have seen many NAPA plays but this set was breath taking. The attention to detail was so true to life that it actually seemed like the interior of a house in Karachi. It was not just the set which was impressive but the lighting was perfect also. The transition from day to night was flawless!

The play had a tragic theme. The protagonist, Salman, is the bread earner of the house but his meagre salary is not enough to make ends meet. His heart is not in his work but he must carry on his job in order to feed his mother and sister. To escape from the constant nagging of his mother and the depressive atmosphere of the house, he goes off to get drunk and watch cinema at all hours of the night. The crippled sister, Nafisa, suffers from an inferiority complex on account of her disability. She seeks solace and lives in her own world of porcelain dolls and glass figures. She tries to keep peace between the mother and son. The mother is a central character of sorts. She loves and loathes her children at the same time. There are moments when she adopts a very positive attitude and strongly believes that her daughter will get married off. At other times she loses all hope and starts blaming Salman for their destitute living and Nafisa’s spinsterhood.

It might seem frustrating for someone watching the play (especially someone who hasn’t read it) to accept the fact that this family can be so helpless and unable to improve their lifestyle. But in a society like ours where there are few jobs, yet rising inflation; many people live frustrating lives. Salman, at the end of the play, walks out on his mother and sister but not every frustrated young man can do that. There are many girls, like Nafisa, who keep waiting for the right proposal because they are monetarily, not physically, crippled.

Even though the play was adapted decently well and there was a stellar cast (with actors from both outside and NAPA), the acting fell short. Saqib Khan, as Salman, seemed quite similar to Constantine (a character from Seagull, a NAPA play in which he performed last year) and seemed to stress more on his diction than his emotions. Ali Rizvi, another NAPA graduate, acted the role of Amir (Salman’s friend). His makeup was done so bad he looked like a doll and his acting lacked the dandy attitude of the character as written by Williams. Hina Dilpazir, a popular TV actress, played the role of the mother admirably. There were fumbles by her also but she managed to keep the entire play together. Jamila Muhammad, who played the role of Nafisa was quite good also. It is not easy to keep a limp consistently on stage and, considering that this was her first play, she did an amazing job. Her emotions were stirring and even though there were mistakes in her diction, her overall performance rendered them meaningless.

'Conversations' in pictures

Sunday sizzles!

The one word that best describes Karachi these days is hot. But the heat can't actually stop us from having fun so hubby dear and myself went around here, there and almost everywhere on Sunday. Better sense did prevail, though, and we agreed not to make our monthly pilgrimage to Sunday bazaar.

The day started off with a scrumptious breakfast of halwa, puri and cholay (all homemade) at my parents' house. I think my friend Sabera might have the perfect explanation and recipe of the three items on her blog (www.onelifetoeat.com). It was a desi (local) breakfast and a much needed change from the everyday jam toast!

It wasn't just the weather in Karachi which was sizzling on Sunday. The Arts Council auditorium was also afire with an interesting contemporary dance drama, 'Conversations'. This 60min performance was an interesting fusion of dance and monologues. The performances revolved around the theme of freedom - man's desire to be free and break out of his caged existence.

The show had promised to be an emotional roller coaster ride but it fell short, by a large margin. It did, though, provide a new perspective on some things. The four letter word that always comes to our mind is f*@k or love. But there is also another - free. Are we really free? Aren't we not captive in our own bodies? These bodies which make us feel proud, happy, worried, and finally, helpless? And then, at times, we become prisoners of our mind. Our mind which just keeps thinking and thinking and thinking, making us frustrated, confused, and at times, vicious.

These messages were delivered through monologues by Joshinder Chaggar and Sunil Shankar who enacted the role of the bird and the earthworm (and no, the former didn't eat the latter!). Even though Conversations was a good effort, it sort of dragged in the end. There was not enough drama even though the theme selected was very strong (man's desire to be free) and the whole show felt a little incomplete. Almost all performers were good, some more than others (Joshinder, Sunil, Shezy Khan). What was not good was the late start, the show was supposed to start at 8pm but things got moving 20mins late. Again, a reason for much frustration!

Our day ended with a fun dinner at my cousin's place where we had pizza, icecream and talked about horror movies and ghosts. Quite an end to a sizzling day!

A courtroom drama

While I was reading my 15 books in 15 days and trying to write a decent blog about them, hubby dear was busy preparing for his final drama exam of this semester.

The drama that his class enacted was that of the famous Indian playwright Vijay Tendulkur. 'Khamosh yeh Adalat Hai' or 'Shantata! Court Chalo Aahe' (Silence! The court is in session) is a Marathi play and was first performed in 1967 (info source: Wikipedia). The play addresses the theme of middle class hypocrisy and the abnegation of women by society even when they are not at fault.

The setting of the play is within a play when a group of amateur actors reach a village where they are supposed to perform in the evening. To kill time they decide to create a mock trial in which they accuse one of their group member, Miss Benare, of having illicit relationships with a married man. Not only that, she is also held guilty for aborting the child which she begot through her relationship.

Hubby dear played the role of Mr. Sukhatmay, a lawyer, who along with the others corners Benare and finally forces her to give in and make her confession. Adnan was extremely convincing as the scheming, corrupt and menacing lawyer who derived great pleasure from the whole activity. It was an absorbing play with a sad note to it. The beauty of this play lies in the fact that it is applicable to our society even now where men conveniently rid themselves of all blame by pointing fingers at women.

Directed by their drama teacher, Rahat Kazmi, this play was a treat to watch. Kudos to the entire cast for doing such a great job and of course, a thumbs up for hubby dear for doing so well, yet again!