KARACHI, Dec 7: The National Academy of Perfor-ming Arts’ Repertory Theatre will present two plays Salgirah and Shaam Bhi Thi Dhuan Dhuan directed by Zia Mohyeddin from Dec 14 to Dec 23 at the Arts Council.

This was announced by the repertory theatre’s artistic director Zain Ahmed on the academy’s premises on Friday.

Salgirah is written by distinguished Indian playwright Javed Siddiqi whereas Shaam Bhi Thi Dhuan Dhuan is an Urdu translation by Rafiq Anjum of a Russian drama written by Aleksei Arbuzov. Both plays are one hour long and only two actors, Rahat Kazmi and Nyla Jaffry, will feature in them.

Speaking to journalists, Rahat Kazmi said that the plays were about delicate and intense human relationships for which the actors had been working hard for the past few months (including Sundays). He was all praise for the way the dramas were written (dialogue, structure, progression) and said that it was difficult to portray those characters.

About Salgirah, he said it was penned by Javed Siddiqi, who was known for his theatre plays as well as for penning the scripts for critically acclaimed films like Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Umrao Jaan. He also touched on how particular Zia Mohyeddin was with moves, gestures and pronunciation while directing.

Nyla Jaffery, who sounded super excited about the project, said that she had been working in the television industry for the past 25 years, but it was for the first time that she had realised what drama really entailed. She claimed that she had come to understand the importance of the subtext in any play. “I am very happy,” she said while expressing her feelings.

Zain Ahmed said Napa’s play Mantorama was going to be staged at the National School of Drama festival in New Delhi in January 2013.

It is third of Napa dramas to be presented there, previous two being Shakuntala and Khwabon Ke Musafir.

He said a shortened version of Mantorama would also be performed in Kolkata. About Napa’s future projects, he said that from the next year 10 plays would be produced — five directed by the institute’s faculty and five by its alumni.