The Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) will open its open air theatre with a month-long "National Drama festival" starting from June 3 in which over 20 theatre groups will present their performances. The theatre would be inaugurated on June 7 with the play of renowned actor Qavi Khan featuring its drama titled "Mirza Ghalib Bandar Road Pay" while during the drama festival PNCA will hold two shows daily at National Art Gallery Auditorium and open air theatre.
The dramas to be showcased include "Hassan Kuza Gar" by Shahid Lone (Islamabad), "Manto Se Milye" by Afzaal Nabi (Lahore), "Rest-2-Rent" by Sabir Khan (Islamabad), Khali Kamra by Faryal Gohar (Lahore),"Sapnay Kab Apnay" by Ishtiaq Aatish (Azad Jammu and Kashmir), "Shehr-e-Afsos" and "Burqa Vaganza" by Ajoka, "Main Adakara Banun Gi" by Sania Saeed (Karachi), "Shah Hussain faqeer Saen Da" by Dolphin (Rawalpindi), "Come Again" by Copy Cats (Islamabad), "No Exit" by Rahat Kazmi, NAPA (Karachi), "Janey Pehchanay Ajnabi" by Zain Ahmed (Karachi), "Dark Room" by Samina Ahmed (Lahore), Sheema Kirmani (Karachi), "Dozakh" by Asghar Naqvi (Karachi), "Aalap" by Sohail Malik (Karachi), Faisal Malik (Karachi), Arshad Minhas (Rawalpindi), Anjum Ayaz (Karachi), "Taleem-e-Balghan" by Javed Babar, Peshawar and "Raees Khana" by Pattan Lok Natak, Islamabad.
"It will be an opportunity for the youth to explore the concepts and styles of traditional and contemporary stage artists while most of these dramas are relevant to the society in terms of entertainment, education and positive aspects of the society," Director General, PNCA, Naeem Tahir told APP here on Monday. He said the open-air theatre would accommodate 11,000 persons while the auditorium of National Art Gallery has the capacity to accommodate 1,200 people.