LAHORE: Another anti-obscenity drive appears to be on the horizon as the Punjab government on Friday formed a seven-member advisory committee to make commercial theatre plays “civilised and family-friendly.”

In March, in an attempt to “end obscenity” in commercial theatre, the Punjab government approved amendments to the 150-year-old Dramatic Performances Act 1876, transferring administrative control of dramatic performances from the Home Department to the Information and Culture Department.

The Punjab caretaker government, led by Mohsin Naqvi, had also launched an anti-obscenity drive, banning a number of actresses from commercial theatre.

“A seven-member advisory committee has been formed to make theatre plays civilised, family-friendly, and cultural,” said Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari on Friday.

The committee includes Secretary Information Tahir Raza Hamdani (head) and senior actors Sohail Ahmed, Naseem Vicky, Nasir Chinyoti, Saleem Albela, Qaiser Piya, Iftikhar Thakur and Majid Khan.

The committee will submit its recommendations in 15 days. Ms Bokhari said the primary objective of the committee is to restore stage plays to being civilised, polite, and family-oriented.

“If subsidies are required for the revival of stage dramas, a mechanism will be developed for that as well. The goal of the theatre advisory committee is to end vulgarity in stage dramas and restore traditional, cultural theatre,” she said.

The minister further stated that a two-day theatre festival would be held on Nov 20.

“The festival will showcase the talents of stage actors and will be a completely family-friendly event, rich in Punjab’s culture, traditions, and characteristic humour,” she said.

Under the new Punjab Theatrical Performance Ordinance 2023, powers have been transferred from the Home Department to the Culture Department to regulate theatres.

The Punjab Arts Council (PAC) will draft rules of business regarding commercial theatres, where all aspects from script approval to monitoring and disciplinary action will fall under the PAC’s mandate through the Information and Culture Department.

During the caretaker government in Punjab last August, when Amir Mir was the caretaker minister for information and culture, the administration sealed more than 10 major commercial theatres in Lahore, Sheikhupura and Kasur for violating the Dramatic Performances Act 1876 and allegedly promoting obscenity through women dancers. Later, these theatres were unsealed by the Lahore High Court.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2024