Grips Theatre stages play for children at Pakistan Theatre Festival

The Pakistan Theatre Festival on Thursday afternoon presented its first play for children. Written by the late Imran Aslam, ‘Sazish Ki Wajah Se Khel Multavi’ was staged at the festival by the Grips Theatre with which Aslam had extensively worked when he was into theatre.

The play was originally directed by the late Yasmin Ismail who played a vital role for children's theatre in the country. Veteran actors Khalid Anam and Mehmood Akhtar performed in the play along with other cast members including Faiza Qazi, K Sajeeruddin, Ayesha Sheikh, Umeed Riaz, Maria Hussain Sheikh, Ruqiya Riaz and Yaseen Bizenjo.

The story of the play revolved around four children from the four provinces of the country who live in a same building and love the game of cricket, but the landlord, Khussur Phussur, is fed up with them and wants to sell his building to a foreign company. He attempts to sow discord among the children so that their families move out of the building.

The play’s script, direction and performances were appreciated by the children and adults in the audience alike. Later in the evening, a Sri Lankan group enacted a play, Ken B Eniwan’s Story, written by Hidayath Hazeer and directed by Ruwanthie de Chickera. The play dealt with how faith and fear shaped an individual’s life who had to constantly choose between embracing and escaping.