Can theatre be salvaged in Pakistan?

Aamir Nawaz

The stage is where an individual’s cultural journey begins but how will its crumbling infrastructure get back on its feet in Pakistan? In a landscape where art and literature have struggled for visibility, does theatre really have a chance to thrive in Pakistan?

These are biggest questions in theatrical scene of Pakistan. When theatre graduates come out of universities, they need a lot of support. We had Punjabi commercial theatre in the ’80s but due to financial pressures, it died down and the quality work couldn’t be sustained. To cater to the financial needs of artists, it is essential that the government supports them. It’s the responsibility of the state to promote art and culture. All forms of art - be it theatre, dance or music - are important for every society and for that, sponsors and grants are important. But a society where Theatre is considered as an entertainment tool only, That’s why Government also takes it as an entertainment tool and definitely entertainment comes when you have no hunger, when your children are getting good education, when you have good health facilities. With all these financial burdens, not a single Pakistani Government took it seriously that Pakistan is losing its cultural face in the world. That’s why in Pakistan Government deposited whatever cultural grant in art council’s accounts and officers in arts councils are more focus on their salaries and self-promotion in media. I strongly believe that Arts council job is not like a clerk job. There should be people who are energetic and want to change the art scenario in Pakistan but unfortunately this is not the case. So what can be other sources of financial help for theatre productions? In Pakistan one has to look for other means of financial assistance. One way is that You can generate funds by collaborating with different companies for the promotion of their products and second way is that you can get funds from different NGOS against your services to become a tool for their awareness campaigns. Both ways are damaging art scene in Pakistan as it limits your creativity and whatever you want to create on stage, it’s not necessary that you will get fund for that theme. While the need grants remains an important concern for artists, there is another significant aspect associated with theatre related to the audience. In this fast paced era of the internet, does the average individual have the time and patience to sit through a two-hour stage play?

 

In my view Theatre is an important means of communication; it’s a potent and vocal medium that does have commercial viability. We always talk about the ‘soft image’ of the country; I feel we should talk of the ‘real image’ instead which is full of arts and culture. There are few steps which should be taken to salvage Theatre in Pakistan. In which one of the step is, There should be some smaller spaces where one can have a setup for such performances instead of one big space which isn’t always a feasible option for everyone. They need to provide available spaces (Hall of Arts Councils) free of cost and share the revenue instead. Arts Councils should conduct a series of theatre festivals including international theatre festivals . These are the step which can help to save the theatre culture in the country and can promote art and artist in Pakistan.