KARACHI: “The National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) has long been criticised for mostly staging adaptations and translated plays. We have decided to address these claims and are introducing a theatre and music series that aims to provide space to original plays and musical performances,” said Zain Ahmed, director of the Napa-I am Karachi Theatre and Music Series, at a press conference on Wednesday.

Calling out young musicians, directors and playwrights to sign up for the series, Mr Ahmed shared how this project intended to include a wider range of performances, not just exclusive to Napa.

In the line-up, starting from April 30, four plays will be staged that are original creative works by “young theatre artists who aim to grapple with the myriad problems and opportunities presented by the city of Karachi”, meshing together the diversity of language, religion, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Not all are Napa performers; two of the plays set to be staged are by independent groups that have been given a platform to re-establish their roots and target a larger audience. The purpose is to “strengthen these existing groups”. The theme is clear; what does Karachi mean for them and their representation of the city through this very lens.

In an increasingly intolerant atmosphere where the space to express oneself in a creative and cultural context is fast shrinking, Mr Ahmed stressed the need to fight back. “Cultural activity in Karachi is under threat. We need to reclaim this space before our future is in threat,” he said. Nafees Ahmad, handling the musical performances of the series, agreed. “We would like to announce an open call for auditions for musicians belonging to diverse backgrounds — folk, classical and even modern. We want to give fusion music a chance that allows the creativity of these youngsters to flourish.”

Auditions are to begin from May 4 and different areas of musical interests will be given the stage to represent their diversity and uniqueness. “Our music series performances, from May 21-23, will encourage musicians to bring their own contemporary understanding of the city.” It was also announced that from among those shortlisted, the more promising ones would be offered the chance to be mentored in their respective music genres.

A playwriting workshop was also announced in which participants will be shown how to construct plays, taught techniques to introduce new ideas in the narrative and provide a thorough understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of this art form. “We wish to teach them how to refine the writing process and produce a better play,” Mr Ahmed said.

Napa’s Framji Minwalla’s Playwriting Award was also discussed in extension, entries for which are open till Sept 1. Two categories of the award are for “adaptation of an Urdu short story into a one-act play in Urdu” and “adaptation of a short story from any language into a one-act play in either English or Urdu.”

This series is in collaboration with and alongside the support of the I Am Karachi campaign to reclaim the shrinking public space in Karachi. Zain Ahmed also shared how difficult it had become to organise events on account of fewer spaces catering to theatre, and those that did so have become increasingly expensive.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2015

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