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The National Academy of Performing Arts’ (Napa) Young Directors’ Theatre Festival will be held from Nov 16 to Dec 1, announced the artistic director of the Napa Repertory Theatre, Zain Ahmed, at a press conference on Wednesday evening.

Mr Ahmed said the aim of the fest is to give opportunity to the young graduates of the academy to showcase their skills and fresh ideas, and at the same time allow them to test their abilities in front of the public. It also enables them to work on a serious level in the future and get chances to express themselves, just as actors get, on a regular basis.

Mr Ahmed said this year the event, titled Sada-i-Nau, will have a total of five plays featuring works of five first-time directors. The event will start with Mitti Ke Gharonde, an Urdu adaptation of American playwright Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. Directed by Farhan Malik, it will be staged on Nov 16 and 17.

On Nov 21 and 22, Jo Chaley to Jaan Se Guzar Gaey (adapted from Arthur Miller’s All My Sons) directed by Faizan Chawla will be presented, followed by Bali: The Sacrifice on Nov 23 and 24, a play penned by Girish Karnad and directed for Sada-i-Nau by Damyanti Gosai.

The penultimate drama to be performed on Nov 28 and 29 is Keerra. Marya Saad has directed this adaptation of the play Bug by Tracy Letts. And the last production of the event is the Irfan Bardai-directed No Question, from Stuart Hazeldine’s script written for the film Exam. It will be put up on Nov 30 and Dec 1.

After his address, the directors were asked to inform the media on their plays which they did very succinctly.

Mr Ahmed also told journalists that next month Napa will stage the Urdu version of William Shakespeare’s King Lear directed by Zia Mohyeddin.

Originally published in Dawn, November 14th, 2019