Photograph: File
KARACHI: The second evening of the Nationwide Academy of Performing Arts’ (NAPA’s) Worldwide pageant witnessed A Midsummer Night time’s Dream adaption known as, Beech Bahar Ki Raat Ka Sapna.
Directed by Meesam Naqvi, the play had garnered a home full hoping to be enchanted by the moon, the fairies and the by no means ending evening, whereas additionally being entertained by the characters and their circumstances. And that’s precisely what occurred.
Within the authentic play, Shakespeare interweaves 4 totally different worlds incorporating 4 totally different teams of individuals with one another. The primary group contains the elders and authority figures together with the King and Queen who’re about to get married, together with Hermia’s father who prevents her from marrying the love of her life.

Photograph: File
The second group is of the buddies and lovers, who turn into the focus within the play resulting from their formidable affection for one another – which misleads them into the forest. The third group is of the enchanted fairies of the forest accompanied by their king and queen whereas the forth group options the commoners who’re getting ready a play throughout the play for the king and queen’s marriage ceremony.
The younger lovers function forged members, Rahil Siddiqui as Sikandar (Lysander), Fajr Sheikh as Harmia (Hermia), Zain Nazar as Taimoor (Demetrius) and Noreen Mumtaz as Aleena (Helena).
The actors mission a laughable chemistry, showcasing their love in an exaggerated method, simply the way in which Shakespeare’s authentic play depicts. In addition they put up a powerful present, no matter a few of their dialogues seeming pressured – however as soon as they are spell certain by the Puck, their supply appears to immediately make sense.
In Naqvi’s adaptation, nevertheless, the fourth group takes the highlight away from each the charming fairies, and the group of buddies, owing to their extraordinary efficiency. Though they’re meant to offer a comic book aid in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night time’s Dream, together with presenting the fact of the elite lovers in a crass method. In Beech Bahar Ki Raat Ka Sapna, their unsolicited humour and carefree perspective breaks the barrier between the characters and the viewers.

Photograph: File
The director’s selection of their native dialect is one other plus, since Punjabi makes them appear much more snug with one another whereas enhancing the humour of their dialogues.
One other extraordinary efficiency is delivered by the Puck, often known as the Robin Goodfellow, performed by Hammad Khan. The director’s selection of constructing him transfer from one nook of the stage to a different is consultant of his free spirit, no matter him being the best hand of the king of the fairies.
Nevertheless, one essential factor that Naqvi does which makes the Puck and the commoners really feel extra relatable to the viewers than the primary leads is his weaving of those international characters with native archetypes. The commoners converse in an unapologetic colloquial method, whereas the Puck acts like a chotu (that’s purported to be the fashionable and native substitute for a jester).
That is the one factor that appears to be lacking in the primary characters, which additionally prevents the suspension of disbelief. One other drawback, which hinders this suspension, is the stating of the apparent, which relays the director’s lack of belief within the viewers to decipher the character’s intention’s themselves. The phantasm of that dream wants to interrupt in moments the place actuality hits each the characters and the viewers, not unnecessarily.
Nevertheless, the general manufacturing is commendable, particularly the set design, costumes, lights and sound results, which efficiently lures the viewers right into a dream they wouldn’t need to get up from.
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