October 20, 2006	Friday	Ramazan 26, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: Culture Minister Ghazi Gulab Jamal on Thursday called for revival of travelling theatres in the rural areas to provide recreation to village folk.

Addressing a news conference at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), the minister said in the past travelling theatres would perform before village audience to crystallise the inner aspirations of the people.

Stressing the local governments to revive the tradition, the minister said mobile theatres provide recreation to the rural people.

“A lot of talent is available in the country to support a national theatre”, he said.

The minister also spoke of a number of measures taken for supporting arts activities across the country and announced the government’s decision to establish a film, arts academy on the plot previously owned by the defunct Nafdec.

Pakistan National Council of the Arts director-general Naeem Tahir, Aslam Azhar, British Council Dramaturge Claire Pamment, Norwegian Ambassador Janis Bjorn Kanavin, German cultural consular Ms Ellen Golz, Sarmad Sehbai and Nasreen Azhar were present in the news conference.

Earlier speaking on the occasion, Naeem Tahir hoped the commissioning of the National Arts Gallery would also give spurt to activities in performing arts.

He said a new building for performing arts would be built near the NAG’s. However, he said, before the national theatre could stand up the country needed good scripts and playwrights. In this regard he said the PNCA with the cooperation of the National College of Arts in Lahore, would start a nine-month project for producing scripts next year.

Pointing to the fast diminishing cinema halls, he said the government had decided not to allow closing down of cinema hall unless a similar facility was built.

In this regard he referred to a number of anachronistic measures in the Film Censor Code that prohibited screening of films with Pakistani actors made in foreign countries.

“This is a stupid measure and he is glad that the present government has rescinded it”. It blocked the Pakistani talent to compete with actors on the international stage.

Speaking on the occasion, the Norwegian ambassador, said his embassy had been sponsoring a number of dramatic activities in the PNCA.

The ambassador also referred to the incident when a number of rockets were found in the vicinity of NAG and said that rockets were not destructive in nature but life transforming rockets would go out from this place to all parts of Pakistan and make the people’s culture vibrant, and enable them to discover their self and their culture potential.

Ms Ellen Golz, said that the German embassy would continue to support cultural activities because such activities helped the foreigners to learn more about Pakistani culture.

Aslam Azhar commenting on, the decision to revive the national theatre, an idea that was once his passion, said: “Theatre is a social participatory activity, but we awaited our great writers who would articulate the truth with honesty and clutter it up with preaching”.

In reply to a question Aslam Azhar said theatre had a great potential in lifting the people’s mind up against intolerance and bigotry.

In her presentation Claire Pamment gave details of the play- writing course. She said PNCA and the NCA were joining hand to conduct nine-month playwriting course at the Rawalpindi campus of the Art College (NCA).

Under the plan selected students would meet in Islamabad for four days a week for classes exploring specific elements of writing for the stage such as structure, language, creating character, and writing dialogue, while developing a full length original play.

She also informed journalists that a curriculum committee has been formed with Aslam Azhar, Khalid Ahmed, Sarmad Sehbai, Shahid Mahmood Nadeem its members.