ISLAMABAD: A theatrical play titled Zameer Saat Pardon Main was staged at the National Art Gallery on Tuesday, which presented flaws in human nature that have led to moral degradation in society.

The production was the second play in the Youth Drama Festival 2016. It was produced by students from the Fatima Jinnah Women University, and featured only women actors who played male and female characters.

According to Aimen Saleem, the writer and director of ‘Zameer Saat Pardon Main’, the play presented the injustice, discord and moral degradation prevailing in society, which people were causing but were not ready to accept responsibility for.

“Instead of realizing their wrongs, they raise questions to others as if they were the cause of all problems,” Ms Saleem said as she explained the theme of the production.

She said curtains had fallen on their consciousness, and people had become indifferent to right and wrong. This play is the third Ms Saleem has written for her university.

Women played all the characters, where it was an old man telling his tale, a postman or young Mushtaq, whose love story serves as the medium through which the message was conveyed to the audience.

The stage was simple and depicted the Chaklala Railway Station, with a bench, a waiting room, and a few other props.

The play’s characters portrayed social problems in an effective manner and conveyed to the audience the need to look into one’s own actions and see if they creating problems for themselves.

The cast particularly enjoyed the central theme, which focused on self-correction to resolve social problems.

First time actor Misbah Rafique said: “The hardest part is playing a man’s role. But I like acting so much that everything else seems to come naturally.” Apart from a few scenes, design, acting and music in the play were largely competent.

According to the organisers, the festival is a juried event and performances will be judged on the strength of the story, direction and acting.

The festival will continue until May 23 and a new play with a new topic is presented to the audience on each day. The third theatrical performance, titled ‘Umeed’, by the Federal Urdu University will be presented on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2016