KARACHI: Henrik Ibsen’s play Ghosts, when first staged in 1882, introduced a disturbing side to the lives of the Alving family. From religious indoctrination, keeping up appearances, incest and even venereal diseases, many considered the play a criticism of 19th-century morality with its hypocrisies of hiding behind facades.
Its adaptation in 2015, at the Young Director’s Theatre Festival on Saturday, brought to life the same elements and presented them in an experimental form that relied primarily on the use of movement.
Directed by Kashif Hussain, who has recently returned from an exchange programme at the University of Texas, Austin, the production uses dance as a medium of expression. This is not surprising considering he has specialised in the genre of movement and has completed a course called Laban Movement Analysis, which is a method and language for describing, visualising, interpreting and documenting all varieties of human movement.
Ghosts has been translated into Urdu and was the final play at the festival.
With the background music varying between symphonies and opera music, Ghosts takes us into the lives of the Alving family that is plagued with secrets some try hard to conceal or evade.
Mrs Helene Alving (Muzaina Malik) awaits the return of her painter son Oswald (Kashif Hussain) after the death of her philandering husband. To protect her son from his father’s exploits, Helene sends away Oswald at a young age to Italy, where he leads a bohemian lifestyle and indulges his flexible morality.
The experimental interpretation by Mr Hussain is of a very contemporary nature. He uses movement, drama, dance and silence to explore the characters and the choices they have made over time.
It is a brilliant juxtaposition when at one end of the stage a dramatic scene between Mrs Alving and Pastor Manders (Farhan Alam) is taking place and at the other end, a contemporary dance between Oswald and the maidservant Regina Engstrand (Erum Bashir) is played out. These contrasts are rampant in Ghosts, and it is most certainly one of the more daring productions at the festival.
The most praiseworthy element of Ghosts is the effort put in by the director in the facet of world-building. In the absence of props, movement actors are made to serve that purpose. The first 10 minutes or so of the play are dedicated to creating the world where the Alvings reside, from the roads they frequent, to the windows they peer from, the furniture they use, to the mirrors they gaze into.
This world-building allows the audience to realise the significance of the use of silence and shadows in the play.
The movement actors Hammad Khan, Masood Rehman, Ubaid Iqbal, Shabana Hasan, Najma Kifayat and Sehrish Qadri deserve credit for making this world relatable.
Mr Hussain’s characterisation of Oswald allows different shades to his personality to evolve over time. He at times seems playful while at others appears to be carrying within him a mean streak. A free soul, he is unapologetic about his unconventional beliefs.
According to the festival director, Zain Ahmed, “The Young Director’s Theatre Festival is designed to create opportunities for the graduates of the National Academy of Performing Arts and allows them to experiment with scripts, old and new.”
This attempt has introduced the audience to an experimental form of theatre that goes beyond ordinary adaptations.
The young crop of directors that showcased their talents at the festival –– Akbar Islam, Shahzad Jalbani, I.R. Omer, Hammad Sartaj, Farhan Alam and Kashif Hussain –– introduced artistic and intellectual experimentation on stage that has set a precedent to be emulated.
Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2015
