Review: Which Pakistani can’t relate to Almitra Mavalvala’s Blacklisted?
“If there are any foreign embassy officials in the audience, your exits are there, there and there,” Almitra Mavalvala said on stage, pointing her arms outwards, then to the sides before flipping the crowd off with the last “there”.
Mavalvala brought her one-woman musical, Blacklisted, to Karachi’s District 19 on Friday and, to put it briefly, she was nothing short of a revelation.
Through a deftly woven narrative spanning the course of an hour, Mavalvala tackled themes that hit close to home for many Pakistanis — the frustrations of a little green booklet that seems to fail you at every turn, a staggering number of visa rejections, the feelings of not belonging, and the bittersweet pull of the paths that lead you back to your roots.
The stage was embellished with all things Pakistan — a plush red rug, a lantern decorated with truck art, painted lamps that emitted a soft glow adding to the cosy vibe, Sindhi ajrak thrown over a trunk — after all, the play was an ode to home and home for Mavalvala has always been Karachi.
However, what caught my eye were the personal details tucked into the set — printouts of visa rejections nestled under the edges of the carpet and a picture of Mavalvala and her nani in a white frame that she adorned with a garland of marigolds during the show.
There’s something profoundly evocative when an artist lays their life bare, inviting the audience into their most vulnerable moments. Mavalvala’s audience was utterly captivated as they laughed at her childhood antics, and sat with bated breath as she recounted being “blacklisted but not really” before ultimately deciding to return home.
Not a single minute was wasted, and not a minute did the audience’s attention waver from her; a testament to not only her sharp wit but her talent as a storyteller. Mavalvala smoothly transitioned from one topic to the other, detailing her life events while simultaneously commanding the entire room’s attention with her powerful vocals and cheeky repartee.
The entire experience was elevated by the use of various media forms — the lights transformed to a deep blue as she was hit with another slew of bad news; an automated, Canadian-sounding voice (like an all-powerful overlord) announcing her visa rejection, and a live band playing alongside heightening the emotional impact of every scene. Mavalvala herself also played the guitar on stage, creating a more intimate atmosphere as she sat cross-legged in front of the audience and sang about home.
The entire show was phenomenal.
As an audience member, I was roaring with laughter when she talked about bullying her brother, I was moved to near tears when she spoke of her grandmother passing away and I found myself nodding fervently when she said, “No one is free until Falasteen [Palestine] is free”.
What Mavalvala did, rather expertly, was tap into the everyday feelings of Pakistanis — feelings of fear, hope, rejection — and in doing so she created a performance that felt deeply relatable, while still being unapologetically authentic to her lived experiences.
If there’s one local performance you watch this month (or the next), let it be Almitra Mavalvala’s Blacklisted.
Blacklisted is being staged at District 19 from January 23 to 26 and will be performed at The Colony in Lahore from January 31 to February 2. The play is written by Mavalvala, and directed by Jessica Fallico in association with resident director Amtul Baweja.
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