PESHAWAR: The Dramatics Society of historic Edwardes College staged a classic Greek play here on Friday, which was still relevant in many different ways.

The play titled ‘The Tory’ written 2,800 years ago by Greek author Homer was staged in Old Hall of the college to keep its golden tradition of theatre performances alive.

Around 50 performers appeared in various roles in the live action and captivated the audience with their flawless performance for over two hours.

Prof Nasir Iqbal, head of the English department, in his opening remarks said the students were trained for over a month and a half to stage the classic play, a timeless tale of love, betrayal and glory based in ancient Greece.

The performance was an adapted version of Homer’s epic poem Magnum’s Opus Iliad, the wrath of a fallen hero echoing on the stage as its universal themes were still relevant like honour, duty, love and the human cost of war.

Edwardians stage classic Greek play

Young Edwardians, Prof Nasir said, would continue to stage such classic plays in the future for carrying on its golden tradition.

The major roles including Helen, Hector, Achilles, Agamemnon, and Odysseus were performed by Afeesa, Muneeb, Baryal, Shahab, Shamayal Khan, Saad Khan and Abuzar and garnered a thunderous applause from the audience.

Other crew members including Khizar Khan, Fawad Khan, Rumana Khalid, Adnan and Hayan Khan also performed important characters in the play. The co-in charges of the Dramatics Society including Zia Mohammad and Haris Mian assisted the young performers to make the play a success story.

The young performers while sharing their views told this scribe that live performance was a wonderful experience for them. They said the Dramatics Society and teachers’ supervision made them do the job in a befitting manner.

Two students from a local college namely Tausif Khan and Usman Dawar commented that they witnessed a bewitching live theatre play which transported them to a weird world of fantasy in the far-off lands and era.

Prof Samiduddin Arman, a faculty member, stated that most students performed extraordinarily well as Edwardes College was the lone institution in the region that had kept alive the golden tradition of live theatre performance.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2025