LAHORE: Ajoka presented online play for the first time in its long theatre journey.

Livestreamed on Facebook, the play was produced on the Zoom social media platform. The play ‘Manto Online’, an adaptation of an Ajoka’s acclaimed play, was presented by students. This was an experimental production in which actors from various cities including Lahore, Karachi, Houston and Texas participated via Zoom app.

Despite the limitations, the play gave the feel of live theatre and the audience felt that they were in the auditorium. The production received massive applause on Facebook and Youtube. The actors expressed their gratitude for Ajoka Institute director Nirvaan Nadeem for giving them an opportunity to be a part of such an experiment.

Nadeem appreciated the hard work and creativity of the students and announced that Ajoka would continue to defy coronavirus challenge and further develop the online theatre format.

Ajoka Executive Director Shahid Nadeem said the theatre was working on a new play developed for online format.The cast of the play includes Feza Farooq, Usama Shah, Jahanzeb Khan, Jawad Tariq, Ahmad Ali, Saad Syed, Asad and Anam Jalil.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2020