LAHORE: A comedy play based on Neil Simon’s 1969 classic The Last of the Red Hot Letters was staged at Alhamra Art Centre on Thursday.

The play has been adapted to Urdu as Dil-i-Nadaan by Jawad Daud and produced by Huma Ijaz of the Lahore Amateur Theatre Zealots (Latz). It is the story of Yawar who is hit by a midlife crisis. He is desperate for some excitement and fun in his monotonous life and wants to enjoy some moments that have so far eluded him. He plans to have an extramarital affair but fails miserably.

The play revolves around Yawar portrayed by Omair Rana who is also its director. Yawar runs family fish shop. He is traditional, simple and upright and has an equally traditional wife and three children. The title aptly describes his state of mind. We see Yawar entering his mother’s apartment while she’s away. This is the venue for his first-ever ‘date’.

Enter Mehreen (played by Raasti Farooq), a rich, modern, fashion savvy woman who recently got married for the fourth time. She met Yawar at his fish shop. The expectations that both have from each other and the way they are conveyed had the audience giggling right from the beginning with Mehreen’s sarcasm taking the cake.

Yawar then tries his luck with Shayan (Mariam Wardah), a wannabe actress, who is talkative and totally desi. From the moment she enters the house, she’s on a roll and barely lets Yawar talk. Shayan is hilarious throughout the almost-one-sided conversation she has with Yawar.

Next comes Tania (Nadia Afgan), a common friend of his and his wife. She’s moralistic, traditional and suffers from depression. She keeps complaining that her husband is having an extramarital affair. Things turn serious when the conversation veers towards finding the purpose of his life, Tania’s disappointment at hypocrisy in society and how them being together was a manifestation of that.

While the story might revolve around Yawar, it’s the women in his life at various stages who bring humour to the play. Omair Rana is outstanding as Yawar and absolutely convincing as the confused yet excited Yawar.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2017