KARACHI:

The Repertory Festival of the National Academy of Performing Arts concluded on Saturday at the Zia Mohyeddin Theatre with a blend of theatre, classical piano and a powerful contemporary musical performance that drew a strong response from audiences.

Earlier in the week, the festival also featured a stage adaptation of British playwright Derek Benfield’s comedy Hide and Seek, adapted by Babar Jamal. The play, staged to a packed house, followed a bungled attempt by gangsters to recover stolen money, leading to a case of mistaken identity and a series of comic misunderstandings. Directed by Zarqa Naz, the production featured performances by Hammad Khan, Usama Khan, Moazzam Khan, Fahad Sheikh, Manal Siddiqui, Kainat Muhammad, Bazelah Mustafa and Zarqa Naz.

The festival also hosted an evening of piano performances featuring NAPA alumni and faculty members Julian Qaisar, Philip Shahid and Zeeshan Zafar. The trio presented a mix of Western classical compositions, film music and traditional influences, including works by Bach, Pachelbel, Beethoven and Liszt, alongside original compositions and South Asian classical interpretations. The performance was met with an enthusiastic response from a full house.

The closing night belonged to NAPA alumnus Ahsan Bari, who presented a multi-genre musical performance titled Transcendence. Opening with a Sheikh Ayaz rendition of the Sindhi folk piece Tiri Pawanda, Bari set a rooted, rhythmic tone before moving into his original composition Sakhi, built around themes of longing and emotional pain.

 He followed with a dark reinterpretation of Mirza Ghalib’s Koi Umeed Bar Nahin Aati, exploring despair and existential yearning, before launching into a hard rock/metal piece titled Wahshat, inspired by Raag Bhairon and Todi, which evoked themes of chaos and rebellion.

A select audience loved the performance and applauded it by giving the performer a standing ovation.