KARACHI: The second international offering in the ongoing fourth National Academy of Performing Arts Theatre Festival could not take place on Saturday evening because the Indian theatre group Ujjagar Dramatic Association, which was supposed to present an adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream titled Kasumal Sapno, couldn’t come to Pakistan because of visa issues.

Talking to Dawn, the academy’s programme director Arshad Mahmud said: “Due to some visa problems the group couldn’t make it today. But we are trying to accommodate them at a later stage of the festival.”

In response to the question that what caused the delay, Arshad said: “Usually it takes six weeks for the visa-issuing process to take its course. The fault lies with us as well because we were a little late in applying for the visas. But we are trying to get things done, and we are also trying to expedite the process.”

As per the schedule of the festival, each play runs for two days. So how would the academy fill the all important weekend gap, because Kasumal Sapno is already on the programme’s list?

Mr Mahmud said: “We will present Anjam-i-Muhabbat, which this year’s graduating class of the National Academy of Performing Arts performed on the opening day of the event. And it’s for free.”

Anjam-i-Muhabbat is a retrospective of selected plays which were performed in the last 10 years by the Napa Repertory Theatre. It is based on the theme of love.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2015

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