The ongoing Sindh Theatre Festival 2018, that commenced at the Karachi Arts Council on November 2 and will run till November 18, is giving theatre lovers a chance to treat themselves to a variety of Sindhi and Urdu plays. Some scripts are original, including plays that have been performed earlier as well (Chup, Kyun Nikala) while others are adaptations of scripts by foreign playwrights.
Amongst them was an Urdu theatre play called Raagni, an adaptation of Ariel Dorfman’s Death And The Maiden by writer Shoaib Hashmi, (directed by Meesam Naqvi) and performed on November 14. It brought back thespian Zain Ahmed, who has a vast experience in the world of theatre and has been directing both original and adapted scripts for long, on stage after a gap of four years.
The artist took to social media and shared, “[I] acted on stage after four years; what an intense and exhilarating experience it was working with such great actors including Bakhtawar, Mazhar and Nazar Ul Hasan. Thank you Syed Meesam Naqvi for directing the play.”
Raagni was performed to a packed audience and received an overwhelming response from those in attendance. The script follows the story of a woman who was tortured during the previous military dictatorship and comes face to face with her alleged attacker.
Prior to performing in Raagni, Zain Ahmed directed multiple acts for Sindh Theatre Festival 2018, earlier this month. First, he directed the CAS school music concert featuring the poetry of Habib Jalib and Faiz with Ahsan Bari. He also directed a very intense emotional drama, titled Ikhtiyar that revolved around a Shia couple and featured Hajra Yamin, Kashif Hussain and Hani Taha in key roles.
“What an intense political and emotional month this has been,” added the artist. “It has been amazing. I love my work.”