Daily Times

LAHORE: Outstanding theatre play originally “Dara”, which was produced by Ajoka Theatre and adapted by the National Theatre UK last year, received the Best Play award at the grand Eastern Eye Award for Art & Culture at a prestigious ceremony held at the magnificent Royal Festival Hall in London on Sunday.

Earlier this month, “Dara” was selected as finalist for the Eastern Eye Award where it impressed the judges’ panel and they crowned it with the Best Play award.

“Dara” held 36 shows in Lyttelton Theatre, London from January 20 to April 4, 2015 where it unanimously enthralled the audience. British media wrote rave reviews about the theme and story of the play and The Telegraph declared it “the best play of the decade”.

The play is set in the 16th Century and highlights the historical conflict between two Mughal Princes Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb Alamgir. Dara was a spoilt crown prince with little battlefield experience. He was Emperor Shahjahan’s favourite but he was also a poet of considerable merit, a calligraphist, a painter, a serious scholar of comparative religion and above all, a practising Sufi, a disciple of Mian Mir and Mulla Shah Badakhshi and a close associate of the radical mystic Sarmad.

On the other hand Aurangzeb, the religious fanatic, fired with an ambition to attain power, was obsessed with the impossible dream of bringing the whole of the subcontinent under his “Islamic” rule. It is an intense domestic drama of global consequences for Hindustan and for the rest of the world.

“Dara” had been widely performed in Pakistan, India and the US at various festivals and received universal acclaim. It is a unique honour for Pakistan as “Dara” is the first play from the whole of South Asia to get this important award. The National Theatre of UK is a prestigious institution and getting recognised by them is a big achievement for Pakistan.