KARACHI: A popular maxim states that most revolutions tend to be betrayed by their own leaders. To edit that phrase, most causes are let down by their own flag bearers. This was evident from the musical ‘Junoon’, organised by a group called Show Your Care at the Arts Council on Thursday.
Show Your Care is an effort to provide a “voice to create accessibility for physically challenged people in Pakistan”. Initiated in 2004, its purpose is to make Pakistan wheelchair friendly and more accepting towards its ‘special’ citizens, often marginalised by society at large.
Directed by Anjum Ayaz, noted sculptor and theatre director, the play revolves around a promising young dancer whose aspirations are cut short after an accident on set leaves her handicapped. From an upbeat and ambitious girl, the play tries to explore Annie’s transition into a hopeless and bitter woman, physically challenged and unable to fulfil her dreams of becoming a great dancer. The premise promised an emotional journey about overcoming the odds and prevailing amid despair, yet it failed to deliver.
From a rather late start, to an inaudible sound system, the play suffered from an array of glitches. And the acting and dialogues further let it down. Due to an endless parade of choreographed dances on Indian songs coupled with slapstick comedy, the rather arresting message being portrayed was constantly overshadowed. The garish and ill-fitted wardrobe could have been kept simpler and a stronger, more understated script could have done wonders for the production quality as well as further the cause of the physically challenged.
Theatre in Pakistan is increasingly becoming polarised. With more and more plays opting to be labelled ‘musicals’, a proper analysis of this form of theatre has become integral. A musical incorporates song and dance with the conventional elements of dialogue and acting; emotions as well as the plot are both communicated through these elements. However, musicals in Pakistan exceedingly subject the audience to an endless display of Indian dances, overstepping into the domain of wedding songs. While this may be to attract a wider audience as well as provide masala entertainment, it very easily becomes off-putting.
The requirements of the ‘differently-abled’ are two-fold as not only do they require accessibility to markets, theatres, cinemas and even restaurants among other places, but they also require organisations that offer them a social support system to help integrate them successfully into society. This play is the start of this journey, and certainly a must watch not for the production quality, but definitely for the cause it promotes.
