Ismat Chughtai’s plays by the Adakar Theatre & Cultural Group on June 26, 27

Saba Abdi and Bobby Mullick in ‘Dozakh’

After eighteen months  long silence imposed by Covid restrictions, Adakar Theatre and Cultural Group is delighted to be back to entertain you with two new humorous plays  Dozakh  and  Mughal Bachcha  written by legendry Ismat Chughtai. Hailed as bittersweet, heart-warming and hilarious, this double bill will be staged at NIDA Play House on 26th June (3pm & 7.30PM)  and 27th  June (3pm) with 3 performances to choose from. To enhance your viewing pleasure the plays are being performed in an intimate theatre space with limited seating capacity.  

Saba Zaidi Abdi is directing the plays as well as acting in ‘Dozakh’, “I am a great fan of Ismat Aapa. She was an amazing writer much ahead of her times who wrote stories on bold themes. She had this uncanny ability and keen observation of characters the life and the times they lived in. It has been my dream to stage her stories. ‘Dozakh’ is a full length play, story based around the life of two old women, Naulasi and Umda, their relationship and the dilemmas of ageing. Follows ‘Mughal Bachcha’, with quite an innovative storytelling with scenes enacted depicting a look in into the tail end of the Mughal era.”

She adds, “The plays showcase some of the best local artistic talent whom I am thrilled to direct and act with. The rehearsals are in full swing and in keeping with Adakar’s tradition, the team is looking forward to bringing you yet another memorable experience. “

 About the Plays 

With young Maham Kashayn
With Nisha Thakre

The two classic short plays Dozakh and Mughal Bachcha are bittersweet stories of a bygone era that capture the plight of women forced to live a life of dependency and oppression within the confines of the domestic world. In Dozakh two old women who seek refuge and joy in each other’s company from their impoverished existence, must face the truth that they cannot live with or without each other ”“ and grapple with the consequences when one of them has to leave.

 Mughal Bachcha set against the backdrop of Mughal culture’s fading glory, unfolds the conflict between proud, beautiful Gori Bi and complex, egotistic Kale Mian,. Among the ruins of Fatehpur Sikri, the lonely Gori Bi spends a lifetime waiting for her husband’s return as her changing fortunes turn her in to a mystery.

Written by “trail blazer” feminist writer Ismat Chughtai, these two plays deal with the sometimes-confronting dynamics of age, gender, colour and social status with Chughtai’s signature light-handed, humorous and ironic touch.

Cast : Suparna (Bobby) Mallick, Saba Zaidi Abdi, Aparna Tijoriwala, Akshat Gupta, Aditi Dey, Yasmeen Mohummadally, Saral Somaiya, Maham Kashayn, Niasha Thakre, Smarajit (Bapi) Dey, Abhishek Gupta, Nisha Thakre & Bijal Shah. 

Creative Team: Direction: Saba Zaidi Abdi, Adaptation: Danish Iqbal, Art direction and Lighting: Dhruvjyoti Ghoush, Music: Sumathi Krishnan, Makeup Costumes: Sandhya Bose, Sound: Sunil Kumar and Tushar Bose, Production & Ticketing: Samarjit Dey, Stage Management: Saral Somaiya 

Book your tickets as soon as they are on sale from May 15, 2021. The tickets ($65, $50 & $35) can be secured from Adakar team which has reserved some good consignment seats for its patrons with no booking fee or from NIDA Box Office. If you want to have allocation of seats from the reserved consignment tickets please send them an email on skaditidey@gmail.com stating number & denomination of tickets along with show date & time. Once the payment is received the tickets will be sent electronically by the NIDA box office.

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