Marking Shah Sharabeel’s return to theatre, the Urdu musical offers a refreshing theatre experience.
Theatre is not the go-to entertainment option for most people in Pakistan and hence it continues to face challenges in terms of sponsorship and footfall. Nonetheless, those who are passionate about the arts do not give up and continue to promote theatre as well as artists performing onstage, in whichever way possible.
One such name is Shah Sharabeel who has been associated with the field for several years. He recently returned to the world of theatre, after over four years, with his sixth musical called Twins Apart, which is inspired from Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers. Produced under the banner of Stage Nomad Productions, the Urdu musical is presently running at the Karachi Arts Council where it premiered on February 12 and will run till March 17.
Sharabeel has some very popular musical adaptations such as Moulin Rouge, Phantom of the Opera and Bombay Dreams to his credit while he also directed several other theater plays such as You Only Marry Twice that was performed in 2014.
Coming back to his latest effort, Twins Apart follows the story of twin brothers Moosa and Isa, essayed by Faraz Ali and Umer Naru, respectively. Separated at birth, they end up growing up in completely different circumstances. When they learn about the relation they share, they do not get a chance to be with each as fate has decided something else for them.
The two-hour long musical takes viewers through a journey of love, loss and regrets as relationships begin to complicate as the story evolves. Though it starts on a relatively dull note, it picks up after the first half an hour and gets better and better with brilliant dance performances, dialogue delivery, spontaneity and wit. Twins Apart offers a combination of comedy, love, music, dance and drama to keep the viewer interested.
Shah Sharabeel deserves a pat on the back for putting up such a delightful musical, with theatrics at its best. The transition from one scene to another is smooth, the set changes are crisp and the sound is amazing. To top it off, the actors have brilliant energy that soars high throughout the course of the play.
Faraz as the intense, aggressive Moosa steals the show with his commendable energy despite suffering from dengue whereas TV actor Umer Naru never allows a dull moment to viewers, whether he is playing a seven-year-old or a grown up adult. The two of them make Twins Apart what it is while Kanwal as Noori, the female lead, leaves a mark with her debut performance. From acting to dancing, she delivers an intriguing performance and enthralls viewers with her looks as well as her craft.
Abdul Ghani as Raju, who is more of an antagonist, brings his A game to the table. He is also one of the choreographers for the show alongside Shezi; both of them do a great job. The walking and talking narrator Rehan Nazim is integral to the story as he keeps the audience glued in between scene transitions. Rest of the cast including Ifrah Khalid and Faiza Mahmood as mothers to these brothers play their characters well.
One of the major highlights of the play is an auto rickshaw driver popping a wheelie on stage. It was hilarious but a bit scary.
The weakest link in the play, one has to say, is the blatant product placement. For instance, the inclusion of Pepsi Battle of the Bands in the story, since Pepsi is one of the key sponsors. However, when we asked the director about it, he shared that it was relevant to the narrative as the two brothers wanted to become musicians and there couldn’t be a better platform to present a battle of bands.
“Given that they wanted to become musicians, I had to create an equation and I feel it was well integrated in the narrative,” Sharabeel told Instep.
Reflecting on making the play relatable for local audience, the director added, “The original play merely focuses on the two brothers but I also highlighted the situation of both the mothers. I didn’t pay much attention to the love triangle as it was in the original while I also incorporated some Punjabi, folk music. The songs were also inspired but we recomposed them; there was a mix of English and Urdu tracks. It was necessary to invoke local sensibilities.”
After completing its Karachi run, Twins Apart will head to Islamabad (March 28 - April 14) and Lahore (April 18 till May 5), respectively.
