LAHORE: The four-day International Theatre Festival by Mass Foundation commenced at Alhamra Cultural Complex on Wednesday.

A sizable audience attended the inaugural ceremony, which was inaugurated by Mashal Malik. The cultural complex was adorned with multicolored lights, setting a vibrant atmosphere. Two performances were showcased on the opening day of the festival, accompanied by the dhol and cultural performances by a group of dancers portraying the diverse cultures of all provinces through various dances.

The first theatrical performance, “Book of Love”, by Mass Foundation, is written by Hassan Raza and directed by Amir Nawaz.

The story revolves around five-year-old Ali, who stumbles upon a book with sketches of a teenage boy and a girl. He starts to portray the vision of that book in which different scenes build up a cute loving relationship which is building between both the girl and the boy. They marry but after sometime their marriage faces challenges. Before they reach some conclusion about their relationship, the girl gets pregnant and with this the same care and emotions again come in the scene. After time they get a child and again they are busy in their routine life. They have lost those moments of love in that book. Ali explores all those love moments and then suddenly he finds the broken rose in the book which was actually given by his father to his mother in their early times. Then he comes to know that this book is in fact the love story of his parents. Then when his parents enter the room with the same disturbed angry mood, he shows them that broken rose and they remember their love story and feel ashamed about their behavior. The cast of the play consists of Eshah Shakeel, Hassan Raza and Gulshan Majeed.

The second performance, “Dastaan” by the University of Central Punjab Dramatic Club, was written by Adnan Awan and directed by Haseeba Khalid. Set in the vibrant neighborhood of Androun Lahore, the play follows a couple, Hania and Hamza, in search of a captivating story hidden from the world. Their quest leads them to encounter an old lady who narrates tales through her puppets.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2024