Theatre: A Mirror of Social Issues

Theatre: A Mirror of Social Issues.
Published in 'Khaleej Times'
14th August 2007

By Fariha Rashed
Social Theatre should not merely instigate change, it IS the change. It is with this objective in mind that theatre groups around the world perform with utmost zest and sincerity. If alternative and social communication theatre can today be held as a vibrant form of political expression and a mirror of social issues, a large share of the credit goes to the theatre companies that dare to speak out under oppressive regimes. In Pakistan for instance, where Social Theatre groups are these days the busiest, Ajoka Theatre, Tehrik-I-Niswan, and the Punjab Lok Rehas can be highlighted as some of the most vibrant. The connection between postmodern capitalism and the re-emergence of Islamic fundamentalism has been made explicit through the theatrical work of many such alternative theater groups.

Madeeha Gauhar, a talented Pakistani theatre director and human rights activist heads Ajoka Theatre and has been doing so for over 20 years. Ajoka as a theatre group continues to be a vital part of the struggle for a secular, democratic, humane, just, and egalitarian Pakistan. “Ajoka emerged out of extreme diversity… angry and full of fiery zeal to bring about a change, spurred me on to set-up Ajoka theatre in 1984”, explains Gauhar. Not just Ajoka, but all other such theatre groups were formed when Zia-ul-Haq's Martial Law was at its oppressive height and all forms of opposition were punishable by imprisonment and lashes. Since then these groups have been producing theatre plays promoting mostly issues related to human rights and social change. Ajoka for example, set the wheels turning with their ‘cultural marathon’, which marked the “beginning of the Theater for Social Change movement in Pakistan”. Most of their plays have depicted and addressed daring social subjects such as dowry, honor killings and discriminatory laws. The first play performed by Ajoka was ‘Juloos’ (procession), a play written by Badal Sircar. Due to the absence of the ‘no objection certificate’ from the Government, which scrupulously examined every script through and through, the play, could not be performed in any of the public halls or auditoriums of the city. Therefore it was performed in Begum Khadija Gauhar’s lawn in the Cantonment, Lahore. Madeeha recalls: “our activities were not discovered by the intelligence until the last portrayal of the week-long performances. However, they banned the second play we were to perform there. By then we approached the ‘Max Mueller’ institute and the German institute accommodated us by lending us space to perform. In the meantime I also went to London to get a Masters degree in theatre from University of London”. Some other prominent street plays and stage plays by Ajoka are ‘Kala Qanoon’ [Black Justice] which revolves around the Hadood Ordinance; ‘Kala Meda Bhes’ which dwells on a real life incident which took place in Sindh, where a woman was exchanged for an ox; ‘Dukhini’ which portrays the ugly practice of trafficking by luring and deceiving Bangladeshi women, living in rural areas, to come to Pakistan. Shahid Nadeem, Madeeha’s husband and playwright for Ajoka, has also done a Punjabi adaptation of Brecht’s ‘Arturo UI’, in the play ‘Bala King’.

Writer Fawzia Afzal-Khan in her book – ‘Exposed by Pakistani Street Theater: The Unholy Alliance of Postmodern Capitalism, Patriarchy, and Fundamentalism’, writes “Many of the more recent plays in the repertoire of several of the groups I have been researching do indeed make these linkages, especially a play entitled Dukhini (Suffering woman) by the Ajoka Theater group, which brings these issues to light through the theme of the trafficking of women who are smuggled from poverty-stricken Bangladesh across India and into Pakistan under the false promise of a "better life," only to find themselves sold into prostitution to the highest bidder. These women are victims not only of postmodern consumerist ideology that treats women's bodies as commodities to be bought and sold in the marketplace, but also of Islamist/traditionalist ideologies that work to keep them oppressed….” This excerpt helps to expose the hard hitting themes that street theatre can adopt, to try and touch people, with the intention of bringing about a change in their mind set. However, Imran Peerzada, one of the founding members of the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop believes that “although theatre groups such as Ajoka have done a great job in addressing important social issues, with theatre one does not plan to make a huge change. Somewhere, someone might be touched by a performance and a message might hit home, but it has to be done subtly.” Imran Peerzada suggests that “since audience members do not like to be lectured and ultimately shy away from such attempts, creating awareness through theatre can have a greater social impact than any other form of expression.” Iffat Nazir who has been an audience member at countless Ajoka performances agrees with this assessment and says that “projection of social issues, which might otherwise escape attention in the helter skelter of our daily lives, through vibrant theatre attract and hold our attention and, entice us to reflect upon these relevant issues even after we have left the theater halls. Effective and thought provoking performances agitate our lethargic minds and perhaps, energize us enough to make a concerted effort to try and bring about even the minutest of changes in societal imbalances.”

Ajoka Theatre’s mission to mirror social issues inspired many others to follow the same path. Safdar, a painter by training, graduated with distinction in Fine Arts from the National College of Arts, Lahore. As a student in the dictatorial Zia ul-Haq regime, Safdar became active with theatre and women's groups that sprang up all over the country in protest against the repression. She even courted arrest a number of times with other women activists. Looking back, Safdar says: “Although I had set out to be a painter, activism intervened. Those were times when it was very important to take the message to the people and theatre was a more potent medium than fine arts.” She joined Madeeha Gauhar's Ajoka theatre group as an actor. Later, she formed her own group, Lok Rehas, committed to raising consciousness on social issues and rediscovering roots, traditions and folklore. In the same way, cultural action group Tehrik-I-Niswan headed by Sheema Kirmani put up plays last year to help create awareness about and to put an end to the so-called honor-killings. Ms Kirmani pointed out that it was very difficult to create a play on this issue. “There were so many aspects to be taken into consideration. It had to be performed in those areas and for that audience where these crimes take place almost every day. We invited a group of men and women from rural Sindh and with some members of the Tehrik team started brainstorming workshops. During these sessions, two of the Sindhi women shared with us their personal experiences of being accused as Kari,” she recalled.

Madeeha Gauhar is saddened by the fact that besides Ajoka, Tehrik-I-Niswan and Lok Rehas, there are not many other theater groups emerging in Pakistan, especially since the possibilities for artistic expression is much greater now. She feels that since 1947, “there has been an active discouragement by the State of performing arts…the government was never clear about its direction and consequently, we landed in a quagmire of a manufactured identity, which was a mixture of our own fabricated ideas about arts and stress on Islamic values.” She believes that the situation has improved a lot in recent times and says “Now, the environment is very encouraging. Motivation and freedom is a prerogative of an artist. Our collaboration with the government has been very successful. We have done two plays, Bullah and Bala King with the Arts Council. We can change the trend if the government pays the expenses of productions, provide facilities and pay actors”. However, with the recent ban on her play ‘Burqavaganza’, which is a satirical comedy commenting on the sometimes hypocritical wearing of the veil, Madeeha sees support for Social Theatre as being bleak.

On the other hand, the government’s apparent leniency in Pakistan has given birth to young theatre troupes such as ‘Black Fish’. This theatre company was founded in 2002, and is the first improvisational theatre troupe in Pakistan. Black Fish makes use of stand-up comedy to address social issues and get their message across to audiences. The troupe has a huge following and is very popular among the youth, although it does cater to all age groups. In 2004 Black Fish was also selected by the British Council to represent Pakistan in an International Youth Theater Festival Manchester called ‘Contacting the World’. Also, a young stand-up comedian, Saad Haroon, who got a strong footing in the world of comedy through his work with Black Fish, has now gone solo. Saad recently performed at the Dubai Community Theatre in Dubai with the tag line ‘Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World? Set Your G.P.S on Saad Haroon’ plastered all across his promotional posters. Saad is talented and has the means to spread his social messages globally. At the end of the day, no matter where we live in the world, we are all plagued by the same problems of daily existence.

The continued existence of groups like Ajoka, Tehrik-I-Niswan and Lok Rehas is viewed by many as a story of resilience, courage and personal sacrifice. Social Theatre seeks to empower rather than persuade. It encourages and teaches team work, ideas about body language and the whole realm of communication. Being part of a Social Theatre group also allows actors to work on building confidence and self-awareness. Furthermore, international theatre groups such as Bond Street Theatre in New York, create innovative theatre works that communicate across lingual and cultural borders and bring these works to varied audiences worldwide. Theatre groups utilize the performing arts as a means to address social, political, and environmental issues with thought and intelligibility. Groups such as the Bond Street Theatre group, also further cross-cultural understanding by participating in and initiating community arts projects and humanitarian outreach programs in a wide range of communities globally, particularly areas of conflict and post-war rehabilitation. They stimulate other artists towards these ends through association, exchange, and creative relations with artists and organizations around the world. In this way, the institution of Social Theatre is bound to survive as a mirror of social issues and be a global revolution in itself fighting and raising a voice for freedom and rights of the individual.