Catch a performance that brings classic texts to life with a contemporary touch

A scene from the play's premiere at Prithvi Festival

S for satire LONG after they have made the journey from the writer's mind to the printed word, classics continue to remain open to interpretation, helping readers find solace in them to make sense of the world.

When actor-lyricist Gopal Datt suggested renowned Pakistani humorist Ibn-e-Insha's Urdu ki Aakhri Kitaab to Danish Husain for an adaptation, memories of a work laced with satire came flooding back. "Though Ibn-e-Insha had written about the socio-political realities of Pakistan in the '60s and '70s in the form of a textbook, the work could very well be modified and contextualised in the current times," says Husain, theatre director and poet, who adapted the text to Qissa Urdu ki Aakhri Kitaab ka, a two-actor farcical banter, based on the format of the popular Pakistani talk show, Loose Talk.

Yasir Iftikhar Khan (left)âu00c2u0080u00c2u0088and Danish Husain in rehearsal

The performance premiered at the Prithvi Festival in 2017 with Datt and Husain in the lead, and will be performed in the city for the first time this weekend since the festival opening, with the banter unravelling between Husain and actor Yasir Iftikhar Khan.

Urdu ki Aakhri Kitaab by Ibn-e-Insha

"I have always been an admirer of Ibn-e-Insha's writing; he had the quality of infusing humour even in travelogues. What sets his works apart is the simplicity with which he put forth his point. He said things in a light-hearted tone, but they carried a lot of depth," says Khan, sharing a few hilarious instances from the original text, which needed minor tweaks. "The author writes that Lady Luck was on emperor Akbar's side. His coronation took place when he was just 13 - unlike Prince Charles, who is still having to wait and watch. We added to the text that he was still waiting even as Prince Harry got wedded, and we were good to go," he adds.

Husain explains that he tried to retain the original text as far as he could. "Whatever was universal and timeless has been left undisturbed," he says. What transpired at the Science Congress a couple of years ago and the state of the Indian education system are some of the contemporary touches he has added to the play. "The farce that Ibn-e-Insha wrote close to 50 years ago looks seemingly true today, and that's the biggest farce," he concludes.

ON: June 16 and 17
AT: Prithvi Theatre, Juhu.
LOG ON TO: bookmyshow. com
ENTRY: Rs 500