Written by: Mahnaz Shujrah
Posted on: April 13, 2018 | 
| 中文
Jagidar (Nabeel Butt) watches as Rano (Hina Tariq) takes care of the baby
“Dunya ki naimtain un ko milni chaheeyain jin ko unki qadaar hai” (The world’s blessings should be showered upon those who value them.)
Ajoka Theatre, in collaboration with the Lahore Arts Council, organized the “Azadi Theatre Festival” to commemorate Pakistan’s 70 years of independence. The three day event, from April 10th to 12th, included performances of the play Chaak Chakkar, Youth Group Theatre Performance and Charing Cross, respectively.
The concept of the Azadi Theatre Festival, as Shahid Nadeem stated, is to, “Celebrate the spirit of freedom and human dignity, through plays which address the social and political challenges facing the nation. We also celebrate the contribution of art and culture for the promotion of the ideals of Azadi.” Nothing can represent this better than the play, “Chaak Chakkar,” which was Ajoka’s third play since its inception, performed for the first time in 1985, at Goethe Institut.
Chaak Chakkar is an Urdu adaptation of a famous play by German playwright Bertolt Brecht, titled, “The Caucasian Chalk Circle.” While Brecht’s play is set in Soviet Russia after the World War II, Shahid Nadeem has beautifully contextualized his interpretation of it, during the time of the decline of the Mughal Empire in India. Originally, the tale comes from a Chinese story, from a much earlier period. Shahid Nadeem calls this exchange of stories and ideas as a, “network of dreamers,” a message with resonance across time and space. Over the years, Ajoka has adapted and performed many other plays by Brecht. The ambassador from the German Embassy in Pakistan was also present to show his support of Ajoka’s consistent effort.
Directed by Madeeha Gauhar, the play starts off by setting the background, where the King Subedar (Nabeel Butt) and his wife, Subedarni (Rabeel Butt) are the rulers of the empire, and have been blessed with a baby boy Shaikhu (Rohaib Christopher). The story revolves around Rano (Hina Tariq), a maid at the royal court who rescues Shaikhu, as the political situation becomes unstable. Subedar is overthrown and beheaded, and Subedarni flees. Trying to escape the wrath of the soldiers in search of Shaiku, Rano goes to the mountains to her brother, where she claims the child as her own, and is later married off to a farmer. In doing all of this, she even risks the relationship with her fiancé, Karamdad (Sohail Tariq), who promised he would come looking for her when the war would come to an end.
On the other side, we see the story of Ajab Khan (Usman Raaj) unfold, who is a lower class munshi in a local area, where the munsif (judge) has been beheaded by popular action. Ajab Khan had been accused of stealing before he found employment in the court as the munsif. The justice he implements is essentially a commentary on our modern judicial system. Soon the case of Shaikhu is brought before the munsif, as Subedarni and Rano both claim the boy as their own son. It is now up to Ajab Khan to carry out justice.
The acting in the play was phenomenal, especially the character of Ajab Khan, which added the elements of both humor and seriousness. Many actors played multiple roles throughout the play, and all executed their characters with equal competence. The production was also a wonderful one, in terms of set design, costume and especially music. Live background music and sounds were provided through tabla and harmonium, and the songs were beautiful live performances. The set itself consisted of a structure made of wooden ladders, which was used to depict abandoned houses, village huts, and even a bridge over a flowing river.
The brilliant aspect of the play was its relevance and connection with the audience. The issues which are highlighted, although set in a different time period, were essentially the same as political questions we face today. The play has been performed several times over the past several decades, and each time is feels as if it is written for contemporary times. It brings to mind the same question that the characters were faced with: “Is this really the naya daur?” With each new beginning, the lot of the common man remains unchanged, while the actors on top of the political pyramid continue with their power games.
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