KARACHI: French novelist, playwright and film-maker Florian Zeller is a celebrity in his country. In 2020, he shot to international fame when he penned and directed the film The Father starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman. It earned Hopkins his second best actor Oscar award and Zeller his first in the category of best adapted screenplay — the movie was a screen adaptation of his own play.

The Truth is one of his known dramas whose Urdu version written and directed by Usama Khan premiered at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) on Thursday evening.

The Truth is about two married couples. One pair — Maaz and Lareb — is played by Husnain Falak and Kiran Siddiqui and the other — Aira and Arham — by Eshah Shakeel and Jibran Khan. It explores the theme of fidelity. This sounds utterly serious; after all, fidelity is a serious subject and in some people’s opinion, the ultimate test of a human’s strength of character. On surface, the story deals with it in a lighter vein in order to investigate the concealed sides of urban men and women through tit-for-tat lines and bon mots intended to bristle with many a meaning.

When the play begins, Maaz and Aira are seen in a hotel room. They’re having an affair for the last six months. During the conversation, it emerges that Aira is married to his best friend, Arham, who is jobless, a fact that is often discussed by them. It is also evident that infidelity perturbs her whereas he comes across as a jumpy character who doesn’t find it hard to lie through his teeth.

With the help of a revolving stage, the scene is switched to Lareb who tries to probe her husband about where he’s been. By that time, however, it seems that things aren’t fully revealed. In the latter half of the play, chitchat between Arham and Maaz complicates the matter as the line between who is telling the truth and who is fibbing gets blurred.

One was intrigued to see the phrase ‘dark comedy’ highlighted on the poster of The Truth. Watching the play one does find some amusing moments in it but the ‘dark’ aspect appears to be missing. This is largely because the Urdu text lacks the layers one expects in a subject as complicated as human relationships. Then the use of the word bola (talk or say) in several lines makes the dialogue sound colloquial which in turn imparts linearity to the text. Also, Eshah and Jibran need to work on voice projection. Sometimes one couldn’t clearly even get the names of the other characters they’re saying.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2024