KARACHI, March 7: Treating a stage production that has a linear narrative is not as easy as some theatre-goers think it is. It requires a lot of skill not to make that apparent understandable progression sound and look pedestrian. Equally difficult to handle are plays which have complex characters operating in seemingly ordinary situations. When Koel (a play that Dr Enver Sajjad wrote for television a couple of decades back) was shown on PTV it elicited a good response. Some thought it was too arty for the medium and some reckoned it was a masterpiece. It meant the play was special. Therefore when Napa's Kulsoom Aftab adapted it for theatre, it had to live up to expectations.

The first scene of the play gives away its protagonist Dr Waheed (Adnan Jaffer). He is a theoretical physicist and is heading for Vienna to take part in an important moot. The physicist is a no-nonsense (somewhat heartless) man and does not believe in overt or covert show of sentiments and emotions. When a journalist asks him a question regarding his associations, he retorts: "I don't have a family; and yet the entire world is my family." Zareena (Farheen Zehra) is an admirer of the physicist and wants him to understand the importance of love and warmth in life. Talking to her friend Shehla (Kulsoom Aftab) she claims that "science is the poetry of the universe", implying that even scientists should behave like normal human beings. She insists that not even death can stop her from getting to the physicist. Despite her friend's warnings and in spite of earlier failed attempts, Zareena runs into Dr Waheed at a restaurant and tells him how important it is for him to know her and the significance of the tender side to life. The physicist gets irked by the forced encounter and snubs her. He gets back home to his robotic butler Saleem (Kashif Husain) with a disturbed state of mind.

Dr Waheed has a koel encaged in his study and a mask resting on the extreme right side of the room. During the course of the conversation between the physicist and his butler it is revealed that the bird does not make that much noise, something that Dr Waheed approves of. The butler too has cottoned onto the fact that while living with his master there should be "no bloody, cheap sentiments". However, once Dr Waheed returns home after meeting Zareena, many changes occur. The koel begins to coo (which irritates the physicist) and the words uttered by Zareena echo in his mind. He becomes a perturbed soul.

Dr Waheed seeks the services of psychiatrist Dr Ghazala (Nimra Bucha) yet remains in denial that he has any problem with sentiments. Dr Ghazala tries to unmask his persona; he resists. This creates an intriguing tussle between hallucination and reality, as Zareena keeps appearing before him in his weaker moments. At the end of her second meeting with Dr Waheed, Dr Ghazala suggests he should let the koel go. She leaves the room and the koel resumes cooing. The physicist gets so annoyed that he frees the bird, after which he acts in a more deranged manner and collapses. In the last scene the butler spots Zareena in the lawn in an eerie environment where she tells him that while chasing Dr Waheed she lost her life.

Koel was a success because it's no cakewalk to deal in symbols on stage. Symbolic dramas are seldom accepted by audiences. Koel managed to attract the audience's attention and they appreciated the effort. The star of the show was definitely Adnan Jaffer. He acted with the kind of self-indulgence which was required for the part. Farheen Zehra was impressive, as was Nimra Bucha. However, actors Kulsoom Aftab (who ironically did a nice job as director) and Kashif Husain left much to be desired. While the former had a problem with her voice-throw, the latter could not fully comprehend the underlying meaning of the butler's character. It was the part of a person that the physicist used as the mask to hide his real self from the world. Originally the butler's role on PTV was played by Dr Enver Sajjad himself, which goes to show how important the character was. On the whole, Koel was a laudable effort and has the potential for becoming an original Napa production.