Picture this. A reclaimed warehouse turned into an art gallery cum venue for artists and writers to meet and perform, is hosting a “recital” by an unknown group of people with a title that has people’s tongues rolling and to add to the air of obscurity, it is going to be in Urdu. The afternoon brunch show was organized last minute by the group to accommodate the large number of people who could not attend the sold-out Friday and Saturday night performances. Five minutes before the show, almost every single chair in the humid artificially cooled performance area was taken, as muffled whispers and expectant eyes waited. There were four raised platforms with a few chairs, a table and a lamp on each against the backdrop of ceiling high flimsy curtains separating the audience form the backstage area. As the actors came in and settled into their positions, the lamp on the narrator’s table was lit.

Omar Kasmani, the script-writer introduces the audience to the concept of story-telling and how each of our lives has a story within a story and everyday events and banter show us a glimpse of people living ordinary lives. The recital is called “Tihai”, three stories, each of them is distinct, contemporary and so simple that everyone can relate to them. The audience was taken on a sensory trip, where they were encouraged to concentrate on what they hear rather than what they see. Albeit the afternoon sun made it difficult for the actors to veil themselves, nonetheless the audience was encouraged to follow each lamp as it was lit to indicate where the story was going. Natasha Mukarrum played the role of a typical housewife fussing at the breakfast table over the house pet chickens, the toasts in the toaster and other household chores that she alone has to manage. Her nonplussed husband, played by Ali Hayat Rizvi, reads his newspaper and makes unconnected remarks and spouts philosophical theories adding fuel to the fire. The chemistry between the couple and the crafty dialogues were brought to life by the two actors who played their roles to perfection, to the point that the listener could actually believe this was a couple of thirty years going about on their typical breakfast table tango with a spoilt and lethargic 11 year old son, played convincingly by Arsalan-ul-Haq, completing the family.

The husband then tunes in to the radio to listen to a story about two people on a platform, which the audience gets to see enacted by Amean J and Amna Iqbal playing the roles of Asad and Sara. Kudos to the script-writer for not resorting to clichéd romantic dialogues laden with sighs and sorrowful incantations of forlorn love. Sara and Asad talk about the end of a relationship, failed promises, disappointments and unfulfilled expectations between two young people who had once shared a love together but are now struggling to find words to bid each other farewell. Amean was stoic and somewhat abrupt while Amna was anxious and almost desperate in her tone and delivery which made the character’s histories and the intensity of their separation all the more believable.

The strength of the script lay in using dialogues and emotions which could easily resonate with anyone in the audience, be they a mother of 50 or a young man of 23. Anyone could find a confession, a remark, a joke or a moment to relate to, throughout each of the stories. The added feature of using live music, performed masterfully by Omar Akhtar to provide a backdrop to Asad and Sara not only allowed the audience to pause and reflect upon what they had just heard, but enriched the overall ambience of the unconventional script.

Light-hearted humour tainted with a kind of pathos that lies entrenched between the lines for those who want to dig deep enough to find it, could be heard in the narration of a letter by Imran Khan. Imagine a stocky man in a black burqa with a high pitched voice uttering every single phrase with such authenticity that one could actually envision the funny stories and the bittersweet relationships come to life. Dredging up long-lost resentments, hidden jealousies and family gossip, Seham takes us on a walk down memory lane, recounting the shared memories of her younger years with her dear friend Timmie. Spontaneous laughter erupted from the audience as many of them could find a member of their own family in Seham, an eccentric aunt with a blunt and crude sense of humour who goes far and wide in search of the right husband and who is capable of saying the nastiest things with such candour and simplicity that onlookers are far too bamboozled to take offence.

The language of the play was simple and flowed smoothly throughout each of the stories which evolved without leaving the audience confused or disoriented at any point. Omar’s penmanship and Amean J’s direction were able to not only bring the genre of radio story-telling to life, for a generation that is more or less oblivious to the dying art, but also provided a truly pleasurable theatrical performance. The audience members left the show animatedly talking about each of the stories, enthralled by a refreshing Urdu play that broke away from the extremes of Ghalib’s vernacular or the desecrated soap-opera version we have come to accept as modern day Urdu.


The group, K’la (which means all forms of art in Hindi) came into inception in early 2006. The brainchild of Omar Kasmani and his wife Amna, K’la began with a bunch of friends, both professionals and students coming together to share and appreciate poetry, prose, stories and other creative pursuits. As the group evolved so did it aims and the members began to work towards their debut performance “Tihai”.


Omar Kasmani

founding member, architect, teacher and a patron of classical music on K’la:
“We gave K’la a generic name so that we could keep it broad and general. But we wanted to have something substantial at the end of our efforts, hence this play and the next one that we’re now working on. We’re a democratic group and we want to keep things organized and professional and concentrate on the strengths of our scripts, keeping contemporary Urdu at the forefront”.


Amean J

member, professional photographer on the success of “Tihai”:
“The truth is we all worked really hard on bringing this together, all the members of the group, even the ones you didn’t see on stage like Leena and Marvi and all the volunteers. We worked diligently to perfect each scene, each character and almost took the show to radio first, but we felt launching it this way would help us test the waters. The reaction from the audience each night was overwhelming which encourages us to think that people want to see what we want to show and that they are looking for non-patronising, quality theatre to entertain and challenge them”.


Amna Iqbal

founding member, theatre buff, avid writer and graphic design student, on her future with K’la:
“I want to see K’la do these kinds of performances more consistently, even if we do it on a small-scale but I want us to continue experimenting with different styles of theatre, doing theatre for theatres sake. I love being on stage and want to get famous doing what I love doing but I would also like to do more than just act, maybe do some writing for the group’s performances in the future or even production”.


Imran Khan

professional in communication design and brand image consultancy, initially asked to join K’la to help with direction, on his character:
“I was asked to come in by Omar and the others who are all old friends of mine to help the actors with vocal exercises and expressions as well as lighting and directorial help. Then all of a sudden the idea of me reading the letter was floated, the inspiration for which came from a character in a play we had once seen in Lahore. The next thing we know, the style and tone had people reeling with laughter and it made its own place within the story”.


Arsalan-ul-haq

member, student of architecture and avid theatre buff on why he enjoys being a part of K’la:
“At the end of every week, all of us would unwind and share ideas and for me it was a culmination of all my interests, writing, theatre and performing on stage. The audience reaction after our first performance was a great feeling, their energy makes you feel like you the world in the palm of your hand and you can make these people feel and react however you want”.



Ali Hayat Rizvi

chief creative officer at an advertising firm, and experienced stage performer on breaking his 4 year hiatus from theatre:
“I was asked to fill in for the role at the eleventh hour but with the support and guidance of the script-writer and director, both of whom I think did a fantastic job in taking ordinary and mundane events and weaving a story out of them, I managed to pull together my version of the character and figure out how he would react to his wife and how the personality would come through his words and his demeanour”.