KARACHI, April 23: The National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) will present an Urdu adaptation of the famous play, Art, at the Arts Council auditorium from May 4 to 13.

This was announced by Napa head of theatre Rahat Kazmi on the academy premises on Monday.

The play is directed by Samina Nazir and adapted by her and Tariq Siddiqi from Christopher Hampton’s English translation of the original (French) version by Yasmina Reza.

Rahat Kazmi told the media that the project would shun the notion that the academy did not highlight the young talent that it had. He said he was proud and happy that the mission of enabling the students of the academy to do things on their own had been accomplished. In a tongue-in-cheek manner, he conceded that when students became better than their teachers, the latter should make way for the former to move ahead. He informed the media that Adnan Jaffer, Fawad Ahmed and Mansoor Ahmed were the actors who would play the three principal characters in the drama.

The co-writer of Art, Tariq Siddiqi humbly disagreed with Rahat Kazmi stating they (current students as well as graduates) would always need Napa’s teachers to guide them. He individually introduced Adnan Jaffer, Fawad Ahmed and Mansoor Ahmed to the media and reminded them that they (journalists) had praised their performances when Art was first staged by the students at Napa’s recently held performing arts festival. The play had received critical acclaim, which encouraged its producers to put it up on a bigger platform.

Samina Nazir briefly touched on the story of the play. She said it pivoted around three friends who came from different strata of life. She said Art was about the constant light banter that took place among the three young men and how their differences made them throw barbs at each other; at the same time they could not survive without one other’s support.

Christopher Hampton’s translation of Art was first staged in Oct 1996 in West End, London. It is one of the most celebrated and widely recognised theatre plays in recent times.