KARACHI: Nothing is more enigmatic than human relationships. No one can explain why seemingly two incompatible individuals hit it off and why two people living together for a long time suddenly start to seek comfort in other people’s company. This was the theme that a double bill directed by Meesam Naqvi tried to explore on Friday night as part of the National Academy of Performing Arts’ (Napa) International Theatre Festival.

The first of the two plays was Raaz-o-Niaz, an old text, which according to a Napa official, was penned by the late Rafi Pir. It tells the tale of a woman Raaz (Erum Bashir) who enters a houseboat looking for some letters. A man named Niaz (Nazr ul Hasan), a stranger to the woman, then comes in and asks her what she’s doing on the houseboat. This leads to a conversation between them and it is revealed that Raaz has been ditched by two men, Wudood and Yusuf. She initially tries to hide her frustration from Niaz but he’s a smart chap; he can see through her.

The play had one major problem: miscasting. Erum Bashir fumbled, though not on too many occasions, dragging the tempo of the story, and Nazr ul Hasan, who is a very fine actor and delivers his lines competently, cut an avuncular figure for whom doing a romantic scene appears to be a bit of a slog.

It was the second play, an adaptation of Italian playwright Dario Fo’s The Open Couple, which was extremely well received. It had a modern setting with Raaz (Kiran Siddiqui) and Niaz (Mohsin Ali Shah) playing the parts of a married couple. The story unfolds when Raaz tries to take her own life because her husband is unfaithful to her. He sleeps around without an iota of guilt. When Raaz becomes uncontrollably agitated, he gives her the suggestion that an open marriage is the way to go about it. After a great deal of bickering and squabbling, as the wife decides to take the route that her husband has taken and starts talking about a man she’s going out with (a physicist, who can also play the guitar and write poetry) Niaz feels the pangs of jealousy.

The highlight of the drama was impressive performances by Kiran (who said her lines a bit too fast) and Mohsin. They were in sync with their roles and efficiently engaged the audience with stories of each other. Quite unlike their colleagues who had performed before them.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2019