KARACHI: White Plague, an Urdu adaptation of Czech Karel Capek’s satire theatre play of 1937, will be staged at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi from August 21 to 25.

The same play will also be staged at Al-Hamra, Lahore from September 4 to 8. The play is being dedicated to the memory of legendary artist Zia Mohyeddin.

The play’s director and cast called a press conference at the Arts Council on Tuesday.

On the occasion, Arts Council President Mohammad Ahmed Shah said that they have always promoted art and culture since their inception in 1954.

“Promotion of art and culture, collaborating with others for this purpose and providing a platform to individuals to showcase their talent has been a big part of our constitution and mandate,” he said, adding that this time they are collaborating with Bodhi Works and Meher Jafri for the production.

Speaking about the play, director Meher Jafri said that it is a Czech Republic play based on World War II.

“It is set at a time when the European superpowers are preparing for war and there is also an epidemic going on,” she says. “This is when a doctor, working in the downtrodden areas, comes up with a vaccine. But he will only share that vaccine on the condition that there should be no war,” she continues, while naming some of her cast, which includes Fawad Khan, Saad Zameer, Kashif Hussain and Samhan Ghazi.

Ms Jafri also said that history repeats itself. “It is a play, which we found of relevance during the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be staged in the Arts Council’s main auditorium in August,” she said.

One of the cast members, Saad Zameer, said that he plays the role of Marshal in the satire and black comedy. Kashif Hussain, another cast member, said that he plays the protagonist, the doctor.

Senior director, producer, actor and theatre expert Khalid Ahmed said that all the cast of the play happened to be his students. “Meher has collected the cream of actors from the city and the country for this play. Therefore the play’s quality is going to be great,” he observed.

It was explained by Ms Jafri that the play is also going to be a tribute to the late Zia Mohyeddin as it was supported by him in his life when he brought it to them through his good relations with the Czech Republic.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2024