A hilarious and cathartic take on totalitarian state

Polish playwright Slawomir Mrozek must have written his famous satirical play ‘The Police’ against the backdrop of the communist totalitarianism that gripped Poland after World War II.

However, the play also resonated with today’s Pakistani audience when its Urdu adaptation was staged at the Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP) on the third day of the Pakistan Theatre Festival 2023 on Sunday.

The three-scene play, which deals with the state’s desire to curb all dissent in a farcical way, provided an opportunity of catharsis to many in the audience who deep in their hearts oppose many state policies but are afraid to voice their opinions.

The opening scene takes place in the office of the police chief of a totalitarian state, whose sovereign is an infant king, with his maternal uncle, who is referred to as Mamoo Aali Jaah throughout the play, apparently holding all the powers.

Hanging on the wall behind the police chief’s table is a picture of a baby wearing a crown, and a caricature of a man with a big moustache, who are the “big brothers” of the state keeping an eye on everyone.

The police chief, who is referred to as Colonel, is perturbed because after years of draconian laws, there is no dissenting voice left in the state, and everyone seems to be praising the government, the infant king and his Mamoo Aali Jaah.

The last political prisoner, a revolutionary who had once hurled a bomb on the General that did not explode, has also reformed and signed a declaration of his loyalty to the state to be released from jail.

The Colonel has also tasked his loyal subordinate, Sergeant, with going to public places as a spy and bad-mouth the government to see if others join him so that they could be arrested on charges of being disloyal to the state.

However, the spy gets beaten up by a mob when he criticises the police at a tea stall. The criticism of the police is unacceptable to the crowd, because if it is tolerated, next time even the army could be criticised.

With no political prisoner left, and no one in the public showing anti-state sentiments, the Colonel is afraid of losing his power and his job, as the state might not require his services.

To save his and his department’s future prospects, he convinces the Sergeant to publicly abuse the king and his uncle so that he could be arrested and the police could provide a justification for its existence.

The loyal Sergeant does what he is told and ends up in jail. An exaggerated account of his anti-state actions is told to the high-ups.

Eventually, the General, who has hired the last political prisoner, who had once tried to assassinate him, as his Lieutenant, comes to grill the Sergeant, at which point the farce reaches the climax and the curtain drops.

The play was hilarious, and the actors played their respective roles well. However, at some points, especially when something was said in a whispering tone, the voice was not clearly heard.

Among the cast, Zain ul Ibad, who played the Sergeant, was applauded the most. Farhan Alam Siddiqui, the most senior actor of the cast, lit the last scene with his performance as he made an entry as the General.

Arman Sami played the last political prisoner, who later becomes the General’s Lieutenant. He sounded a bit monotonous here and there. The role of the police chief was played by Owais Rehman. The other cast members were Sheryl John and Raza.

The director, Hassam Irfan, who recently graduated from the ACP’s theatre academy and has acted in a few plays, deserves praise, given that this was his directorial debut.

What makes him more praiseworthy is the fact that he himself translated the play into Urdu. One hopes he preserves his creative energies and does not abandon doing theatre altogether, as he has ventured into the television industry.

Meanwhile, the ACP also hosted the performance of a Sri Lankan dance troupe led by acclaimed dancer Chandana Wickramasinghe on the third day of the festival.