Theatre has fascinated people all around the world since times immemorial. On the one hand, the elite class had their own theatres that told the stories of kings, queens, princess and princesses and on the other; there was a tradition of street theatre that focused on the common man’s life and problems. The elite theatre made heavy use of costumes and other props with usually very large cast, while street theatre was comparatively inexpensive entertainment.
The subcontinent has its own tradition of people’s theatre that is known as Nautanki or Natak. The most important aspect of this traditional theatre is its simplicity. Unlike theatre in the proscenium, street theatre entails minimum use of lights, cosmetics/makeup, costumes and other ‘paraphernalia’. A character is established with a small, but significant prop e.g. a stick to portray a policeman, a stool/chair to represent a king’s throne etc. The actor achieves success with his acting skills such as voice control, body language and expressions. This kind of theatre was quite popular among the masses, and people thronged to its performances, which were held on melas or fairs regularly, in every nook and corner of the subcontinent.
Its strong appeal to the masses makes it the most cherished tool for development workers, especially the ones involved in advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns. As the sub-continental version is more affordable and culturally acceptable, it becomes more important for awareness-raising campaigns. There is no need to hire professional actors and actresses as members of a community can themselves prepare short plays with minimum training.
Theatre remains an underutilised tool in Pakistan. We need to make proper use of this powerful tool to bring about a lasting change in people’s attitude towards many issues plaguing our society such as violence, intolerance and the environment.