INSTEP Magzine

We have seen our movies getting better, our music industry expanding and our TV getting bigger with time and with so much expansion in the media, our theatre has come to life again. This year NAPA Repertory Theatre Company was established after the first batch of National Academy of Performing Arts passed out of the institute.

Along with trying their luck in various media outlets, NAPA graduates were offered the option of being part of a Repertory Company, the first in Pakistan, and vowed to work for the progress of theatre in the country. And, with Rahat Kazmi as their Artistic Director and Zia Moheyuddin as their Director, NAPA has sure brought in some great plays to stage.

This is definitely a positive step towards the betterment of theatre where young minds and zealous souls have gathered together to showcase their talents and prove their potentials. They started out with Sufaid Khoon that was directed by Zia Mohyeuddin and was based on Shakespeare's King Lear. The play featured Talat Hussain along with the Repertory members. It ran for a good 10 days and was successful in attracting the audience. At the premiere of Sufaid Khoon, NAPA committed to produce six plays this year. The circumstances were not really rosy in 2008, both for the city as well as for NAPA; still they kept their word

The second offering of NAPA was Adhay Adhore which was directed by Rahat Kazmi. After that they performed three more plays, Jane Pehchane Ajnabi, Wakeel Sahab featuring Arshad Mehmood and Janab-e-wala Mar Chuke Hain, all scripted and directed by Repertory members.

Recently, they showcased their concluding play for this year Jungle Mai Mangal Bazaar which was again directed by Rahat Kazmi and featured the veteran actor Salman Shahid. It was a political satire on the current situation of Pakistan which was not only an eye opener but constantly tickled your funny bone.

With this, NAPA offered the last of its promised six plays. And for their efforts in reviving the theatre scene in the city and giving a hungry audience an outlet for catharsis, NAPA Repertory Theatre Company is our hotstepper of the week. This whole is definitely more than the sum of its parts.