There were very few empty seats at Alhamra Hall No2 on the first three nights of Anwar Maqsood’s stage rendition of his popular 1980s TV drama Aangan Terrha. That despite the fact that the play being staged in Lahore was not publicised early.
The play has been brought to Lahore after 101 shows in Karachi.
“I think it’s great that the Lahore theatre scene is being revived,” remarked Aamir Mahzar of Savvy PR. He added, “I don’t think that it has been advertised that well but despite that a lot of people are turning up to see [the play].”
The Facebook page of Kopykat Productions – the production house behind the play – offers an answer to the next-to-none publicity. A wall post on April 7 said that the play would be leaving for Lahore in “six days”. On April 15, another post announced that the play would be staged in Lahore from April 18 to April 28. On April 16, another wall post said: “Dear lahore, it [is] with a heavy heart that due to some problems we have to cancel Lahore indefinitely.” The next day, the organisers noted “…the show must go on” and confirmed that the old schedule was back on.
The play revolves around Akbar, a servant played by Yasir Hussain, who used to be a classical dancer but now works at the house of a retired civil servant Mehboob Ahmed, played by Talal Jilani, and his wife Jehan Ara, played by Hareem Farooq.
The director of the play Dawar Mehmood was among the group of people who convinced Maqsood to adapt the TV play for stage.
“To quote Anwar Maqsood, adapting the play for stage was as difficult a task as FG Ebrahim has in holding free and fair elections,” remarked Mehmood while talking to The Express Tribune.
Abuzar Khan, a student at University of Lahore, believes that the task was accomplished rather well. Even though everyone knows the story, he says, “the combination of a classical writer and the youth” is what works really well.
Lahoris seem to be convinced that the play will be good. According to the company’s official Facebook page, all but two nights are sold out.
Tickets are available for Rs1,500 at Coffee Tea and Company in Gulberg and Defence. According to Danka, tickets can be delivered at your home for an extra Rs50. The last night of performance is April 28.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2013.