KARACHI: The next production to be staged at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) will be Khoya Hua Aadmi written by Kamal Ahmed Rizvi as a tribute to the legendary actor and playwright, it was announced at a press conference on Monday.

The play will be directed by Napa faculty member Khalid Ahmed, who spoke about the main protagonists of the play, a middle-aged married couple whose lives are greatly impacted by the happenings of the city. “The state of their neighbourhood, as well as the changing facade of the city, all has a direct impact on their lives. And though the story is set in the 1980s, it is very much applicable to contemporary times with rampant examples of crumbling infrastructure, increasing hatred among people and the distances in relationships.”

Despite the seriousness of the play, he said, the play was still very comical. It will be staged from March 4 to 13, daily at 8pm, which is a departure from Napa’s tradition of holding weekend performances.

Ahmed said Khoya Hua Aadmi was among Kamal Ahmed Rizvi’s favourite plays and was enacted several times on stage and aired on television.

“I have the opportunity to direct this play with mature actors who were part of Napa’s first and second batches. This is interesting because you do not need to give them detailed direction and in fact they bring varied nuances to your interpretation of the text,” he said.

The cast of the play was also present to share their experiences of working with director Ahmed. Fawwad Khan, who will play the role of Danish, shared how in a large portion of the play, only two characters were present onstage which made it a challenging task. “This puts more responsibility on the actor. Another interesting element is that Kamal Ahmed Rizvi not only wrote the play but also acted in it. I have tried not to replicate his performance but interpret it independently with the help of the director.”

Aimen Tariq, who plays the role of Danish’s wife, Bano, called the experience an emotional rollercoaster.

“The play is intense and at the same time there are comic elements to it too. It is challenging to move quickly from one extreme emotion to another. And without the help of proper direction this would not have been possible.”

Zain Ahmed, Napa Repertory Theatre artistic director, also shared details about Napa’s annual event, the International Theatre and Music Festival, which will begin on March 20 and will be on for 15 days.

“There are groups coming from seven countries. One of the highlights of the festival is the staging of the play Khwabon ke Musafir, which is written by Intizar Husain and is directed by Zia Mohyeddin.”

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2016