ISLAMABAD: The five-day Youth Drama Festival 2017 opened at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Friday.

A total of 117 universities and colleges from Rawalpindi and Islamabad are invited to the festival, and the 12 best productions have been selected to be performed before the jury.

Shahid Masood, a producer with Pakistan Television, novelist and television writer Shoaib Khaliq and direction and production teacher Shaista Hanif make up the jury panel.

The festival is an annual PNCA feature held to encourage stage performers to showcase their creativity and provide a platform for their talent.

Two theatrical performances were held on the first day of the festival. Students from the Arid Agriculture University participated in the festival for the second time with a production titled View Hotel.

The director, Bilal Ismat, explained that the production aimed to bring to light corruption at various levels of society, from the lower all the way up to the ruling classes. Featuring over 20 cast members, the play depicted various individuals all staying in one hotel who end up confessing to their wrongdoings.

Despite some good acting, the hour-long performance dragged and lacked spontaneity. Theatregoer Alina Usman found the play to be funny but poorly directed.

The night appeared to belong to performers from the National College of Arts (NCA) Rawalpindi, who had roughly a day to prepare their 15-minute production.

Titled Maazi, the performance followed an old man who believed he was through with his past although his past was not through with him. Directed by Shahan Ahmed Shah, who played the lead character, the play explored how the man’s decision to kill his beloved due to societal pressure haunted him in his old age.

This was the second time NCA’s drama society Kirdan performed outside the college.

Audience member Mehwish Khan said NCA’s performance was “moving as well as intriguing”.

Three performances will be held on Saturday – Humsaya by students from the Institute of Space Technology Islamabad, Randai Darga by students from the Islamabad Boys College G-6/3, and a performance by the Dramay Baaz theatre club.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2017