LAHORE, Dec 2: Theatres in Lahore and many other cities of Punjab remained closed on Tuesday as producers had objections to the new timings for performances ordered by district coordination officers.

The producers put an end to theatre activity even at Alhamra Art Centre, the state owned art institution.

According to the producers, on Nov 28 a notice was issued to all private theatres saying: “All the theatrical drama performances will end shows before 11pm positively.”

Theatre Producers Association Chairman Chaudhry Zulfiqar told Dawn that the timings ordered by the DCO office were not acceptable to the producers. He said government had issued this order without any notice or prior information which was unfair.

He said earlier drama timings were from 11.30pm to 2am, and it was not possible for producers to change the routine at once. He said the association office-bearers and a number of artistes met the home secretary on Tuesday and informed him about their problems. The final decision about the timings would be made in a meeting on Wednesday (today), he added.

Mr Zulfiqar said the producers had proposed that new drama timings should be from 10pm to 12 midnight. It was not possible for artistes as well as drama producers to start plays earlier than that, he added.

Sakhi Sarwar, a known private theatre organizer, said due to this timing issue about 200 theatres had been closed all over Punjab, and a large number of artistes were suffering. Arguing that people mostly came to theatres after the markets got closed, he apprehended that the new timings might ruin the theatre business.

Artworks: An exhibition of artworks titled ‘Culture and Democracy’ opened at the National College of Arts on Tuesday.