An unconventional but riveting performance at the Arts Council by Gulgee himself and astutely directed by Pomme Gohar

Karachi Amin Gulgee’s search for the apple was presented at the Arts Council on Tuesday evening, meticulously choreographed by Gulgee himself and astutely directed by Pomme Gohar.

While many aspects of the performance may have been Latin to the more traditional theatre fans, it was, on closer examination, a highly original and versatile affair. What added to the positive aspect was the musical score which sounded psychedelic but, given the theme, was appropriate.

The performance, titled, ‘Where is the apple?’, is in three acts all combined into one.

Act One is titled ‘Inside the Char Bagh’. Act Two is ‘Outside the Char Bagh’, and Act Three is ‘Becoming the Char Bagh’.

It goes to the credit of Zain Ahmed, currently, the artistic director, National Academy of Performing Arts Repertory theatre, to have managed lighting which, even though it gave an uncanny effect, was perfectly in tune with the nature of the play.

As Gulgee quotes Oscar Wilde, “Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There’s passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship.”

This is precisely what the performance depicts through really supple and artistic dance movements to the accompaniment of psychedelic music. It has noisy scenes with the males shouting full throat at random or at their female counterparts, but in each case the supposed violence mellows into cordiality depicted by those exquisite and artistic dance movements.

In many cases, these dance movements were accompanied by ghostly laughter which gave it a further interestingly mysterious effect.

Up until the end, audiences were left guessing where Gulgee’s much sought after apple was, but more than that what the apple really was supposed to be. This added another element of charming mystery to the whole show. It was all left to the imagination of the viewer. The apple would connote different things to each and every member of the audience.

Most of the production team have very impressive credentials. Producer-Director Pomme Gohar for one happens to be the first Pakistani to appear on the catwalks of the fashion houses of Paris. She has organised many fashion shows for top designers in Pakistan.

Amin Gulgee, a Yale graduate, the son of one of the most well-known artists of the country who was also highly acknowledged on the international plane, has been sculpting for over two decades and is a graduate in art history. Joshinder Chaggar and Sunil Shankar both executed their parts with great dexterity. Sikander Mufti’s musical score, even though totally unconventional, was an astute affair.

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