e are not out of the woods yet, but theatre survived 2020 and 2021, and it is not going away any time soon. So with just the tiniest note of caution, we ventured to watch what was billed as the headiest play in the collaborative stage trilogy, scripted by Anwar Maqsood - Sarhay Chauda August. The series began in 2011 with Pawnay Chauda August and was followed by the Sawa Chauda August in 2013. Pawnay Chauda August was an intriguing story of what Pakistan was supposed to be and how it had ended up being different from that. Building further on the theme, Sawa Chauda August gave a simplistic account of everything that had gone wrong with Pakistan during the times of two key heads of government – Gen Zia-ul Haq and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The play premiered on August 14 at Karachi Arts Council, quite aptly for Independence Day. It charts the history of subcontinent’s partition with two opposing leaders Jinnah (played by Omar Kazi) and Gandhi (played by Tanveer Gill) influencing the masses in their different ways.

It is known that both these leaders had not wanted to divide the ‘country’ in the first place. They simply aimed to achieve freedom from the British. The rebellion however gradually led to a differences between themselves, leading them to conclude that both needed independent states to exercise their rights and duties freely. Jinnah and Gandhi agreed in the end on a Muslim government in Muslim majority regions. However, Nehru disagreed and this led to the great divide.

The story unfolds as we see a court case being filed regarding who should be blamed for carving out Pakistan from British India; who is responsible for the decline of India and how and why it led to the eventual creation of three countries — India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

On the face of it, it is a political comedy about two warring leaders. It is also a momentous tribute to the power of collective action.

The play is a cracking piece of theatrical work. We watch Jinnah and Gandhi manoeuvring through different parts of the world, sprinkled with dialogues that act as punch lines to remember for times to come. On the face of it, it is a political comedy about two warring leaders. It is also a momentous tribute to the power of collective action. 75 years later, it has unexpected resonances. The realism of the representation, the canniness of the staging, and the associations it establishes with people, times and ideas are “tuned right”. It is about a community plagued by guilt, suspicion and fear. It engages with the complexities of what happens politically in the theatrical experience and an intellectually-demanding effort to engage with the people. The chaos and mayhem that the two leaders face are in Kashmir is another highlight of the play. Jahanzeb Ali Shah, playing a Kashmiri freedom fighter, evidently rang true to his character. He was able to bring out the emotive pungency that his role necessitated. What might just be a theatrical performance is transformed into a moving rumination on the colour of grief and the pain of violence and loss. Omar Kazi, who played Jinnah, acted equally well. He came across as an arrogant patrician who proves indispensable to the freedom movement. Extensive effort can be seen to have gone into special effects and lighting. The play is also peppered with music (by Abbas Ali Khan) and there are several set changes.

Should I impose my own values on the play when I review one? More specifically, should I allow my own aesthetics and ideology to determine how I respond to it? It definitely is a case where all critics inevitably find their response to things coloured by their own politics. As somebody who has seen numerous stage productions over the years, I can’t help but feel that each new segment in the Chauda Aagust series emerges basically from years of artistic deliberation rather than roll off an assembly line.

The Dawar and Anwar duo have gradually become the be-all and end-all of great theatre. The audience will not expect anything short of supreme from the ace writer and director. The play, as a rule, is one of the biggest shows of the year.

The author is the publishing editor at Liberty Books.