A frightening tale of populism and warmongering

After a successful production last year, the Arts Council of Pakistan is again staging an Urdu adaptation of ‘The White Plague’, a satirical play originally written by Czech author Karel Capek in 1930s, dealing with the themes of populist politics, power and warmongering.

The play has been directed by young thespian Meher Jafferi as a tribute to Zia Mohyeddin, who mentored a large number of young theater practitioners while he headed the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA).

The two-hour play, which premiered on Friday, will continue to be staged until August 25. It will also be presented in Lahore from September 4 till 8.

The cast includes Kashif Hussain (Dr Galen), Fawad Khan (Dr Sigelius), Saad Zameer (The Marshal), Samhan Ghazi (Seth Sahab), and others.

The play was written against the backdrop of the events preceding the Second World War and deals with warmongering and how populist leaders are able to sway public opinion in favour of their bloodied adventures.

The play tells a story of a ruthless dictator who can go to any extent to ensure his dominion and a selfless doctor who finds a cure of the epidemic disease that has spread all over the world, including his country.

The Marshal is more interested in waging wars rather than addressing the pandemic and asks his friend Seth Sahib to increase arms production. When Seth Sahab is affected with the disease and goes to Dr Galen, he agrees to cure him on the condition that he will stop arms production.

However, the Marshall goes ahead with his war plans. It is when Marshall is himself afflicted with the deadly disease, it becomes probable that he will stop the war and be treated by Dr Galen. However, by that time, the public are too enthusiastic about the war and quite out of control in their desire for bloodshed. This leads to the tragedy.

A large number of people, including actress Sanam Saeed, came to see the play on its first day. Audience members praised the production and acting, and said the play dealt with themes that were also relevant today.