The concept of Pakistani theater as a national heritage could only be traced back to modern plays due to the absence of any classical theatrical tradition, while folk literature has also been largely obscured except the performances of the Bhand.
[3] Later, however, in an attempt to re-assert indigenous values and ideas, village theatre was encouraged across South Asia, developing in a large number of regional languages from the 15th to the 19th centuries.
Theater groups, for instance, performed repertoires that depicted and challenged extremism as well as biased notions of nationalism, religion, and gender.
There are historians, for instance, who proposed that the style of Inder Sabha had elements that can be traced to the French, a position that Masud Hasan Rizvi rejected.
[7] Today, Pakistan has a growing theatre culture, and Urdu theater competes with English plays for dominance in the country's entertainment industry.
In 1855, the enactment of the play Inder Sabha written by Agha Hasan Amanat in the court of the last Nawab of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah, marked the beginning of Urdu theatre.
[citation needed] Manto was primarily known for his short stories of the South Asia, great literature out of the events relating to the Partition of India.
After Bakra Qistoon Pay stage shows became a vibrant, majorly comical (and often gritty) part of the Pakistani culture.
[citation needed] The general complaint in conservative circles is that commercial theatre is lowbrow and thrives on obscene dialogue and dances.
From the Punjab Arts Council, which is responsible for vetting the scripts to District Coordination Officers, who are authorized to monitor the screening of plays, to the Home Department that actually takes action against producers, directors, artistes and theatre owners, the dice is loaded against entertainment at every step.
Commercial theatre is surviving this accusation and, in some cases, even thriving this shows that people want entertainment and are prepared to watch plays despite the hazards of doing so.
The joint efforts of Naheed Khanum, Amanullah, Mastana and Baboo Baral ushered in the art the lively dialogues and innovative style was like a breath of fresh air for the citizens.
The moral citizens were scandalized by the low-quality, obscene and vulgar shows called for the closure of commercial theatre have become common in Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan and Sahiwal.
It started as a group of young men and women, primarily students, that was concerned with the military oppression of arts and cultural activities in Pakistan.
The group cherished a society that has gender equity and democratic values, respects all humans and offers equal economic opportunities to all.
From staging classical epics to quick response street skits and from working out foreign adaptations to improvising ones with community and from performing at overseas festivals to villages and urban slums, Rahs has touched upon a host of issues.
Rahs' canvas is very wide and diverse as it has dealt with subjects like child marriage and women's right to marry of their free will and staged plays against arms race and military dictatorship.
The group aims to marry the tradition with modern techniques and concepts and make it an effective tool in the hands of organizations working for social change.
The group not only performs but also trains other dramatic societies and community organizations to do theatre as an art and use it as an effective tool of communication.
It also provide opportunities to its alumni and students to display their talent through different festivals and in-house NRT productions, which puts on plays on a regular basis.
In this respect, the Capital has been exceptionally successful, through the support of the Government and Private Investors, to give a platform to the youth to showcase their talent.
2006 alone saw around eight lavish theatrical productions, and was touted as the year of comedy, as residents of the Capital were treated to a liberal dose of humor and farce.
Despite being a Karachi-based group, Black Fish managed to take its performances to other Pakistani cities such as Lahore, Islamabad and even Faisalabad.
In 2004 Black Fish was also selected by the British Council to represent Pakistan in an International Youth Theatre Festival Manchester called Contacting The World.
The troupe has worked with Pakistan's leading English Newspaper, Dawn, to put together the first ever Comedy Festival which was held in Karachi in November 2006.
These people also have the privilege Ilaaj-e-Zid Dastiyaab Hai (aka Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew in Urdu) -2012 (directed by Haissam Hussain - Theatre Walley/Kashf Foundation and Hamza Kamal - Actor and choreographer based in lahore (Director of DENGUE the play).
These plays act as sort of a reunion for all the current students to get together in a single place and feel a sense of unity with their predecessors.