Lahore (28-05-2023)

Ajoka performed on Saturday a double bill at the ongoing Alhamra Theatre Festival. Its two short plays were “Mind-Blowing” and “Bullah Te Banda”.

“Mind-Blowing” was written by Ajoka’s Art of Writing student Sanawar Iqbal and directed by Nirvaan Nadeem. It was the story of a clinic where a weird psychologist treated his patients in a very unusual way with everyone coming out singing his praises. In the end, it turned out that he was an imposter and was himself a patient.

“Bullah Te Banda” was a shortened version of the Ajoka classic on Bulleh Shah. Written and directed by Shahid Nadeem, the play depicted the dramatic encounter between Baba Bulleh Shah and Sikh warlord Sardar Banda Singh Bahadur. Both lived in the same period and responded to the tyranny of the Mughal rulers but their approach was different. The heated debate between the two strong characters gave an insight into the varied responses to injustice. The play was a strong indictment of intolerance and violence.

Actors Sarfraz Ansari and Sibte Hassan performed the characters of Bullah and Banda Singh, respectively while Ali Moon Qawwals performed live in the play. Other cast members included Muhammad Qaiser, Shehzad Sadiq, Luke Kelvin, Nasir and Meesam