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| KopyKats’ new production Siachen, written by Anwar Maqsood and directed by Dawar Mehmood. |
Anwer Maqsood’s previous plays showed the effect of politicians’ aspirations
on Pakistan. ‘Siachen’ is a portrayal of the effect of Pakistan’s permanent military
deployment to secure its borders since an incursion in 1984 on the soldiers stationed on earth’s highest
and toughest battleground, 22,000 feet above sea level, where many soldiers have
lost their lives due to both human combat and natural perils.
The play does not have a storyline; rather, it shows a day in the
life of the soldiers stationed at the Siachen Glacier in one of the better
times it has seen, when tensions and trigger-readiness are at ebb.
The play depicts their daily challenges and encounters: missing their
family; coping with extreme isolation in extreme conditions; celebrating Eid; the
palpable excitement when a new person brings a change of scene, especially when
it is a woman; a soldier who wanders in from across the border, and the cross-border
exchange of banter and fire. And of course, if it’s something to do with across
the border then the excitement of cricket rivalry is also a must even, or
perhaps especially, at Siachen.
The isolation is so intense that the soldiers orchestrate relationships
and social interactions in their dreams to provide some form of human contact.
Daily survival is a struggle – they have to requisition and then wait
for the delivery of provisions and equipment, and then use them judiciously. Cigarettes
are a precious commodity. There is no running hot water. Going to the toilet is
a painful experience.
When the soldiers recount their experiences candidly, we realise
what we may see are photoshopped images of ground reality. With 30 years of literally
hanging on the edge, every moment is a matter of life and death. When your camp
is destroyed and you are next in the line of fire, you are left with only a
prayer and love for your country. In a battle some survive and some don’t but
all are ready to fight and sacrifice, though they would like to spare their
mothers the agony of burying a child.
With this grim plot, only Anwar Maqsood’s special talent could make
it a comedy. He injected his witty one-liners in this serious topic and made the
audience laugh and cry at the same time. The choice of topic was a refreshing
change.
The audience’s reaction was somewhat surprising though. In a moving
scene when most of the Pakistani soldiers are shot in an ambush, the audience
started clapping and cheering before the last salvo was fired. One would normally
expect a moment of somber silence. One may find fault with some on-stage shouting,
trite dialogues, slapstick, innuendo and the awkward excitement of the actors when
a woman comes onstage, but since most of the crowd found it entertaining, perhaps
it is needed to draw the crowds.
KopyKat they have done their homework with the set design and
characters. Radio set, gas cylinder, battery, water and food supplies, board
games, prayer mats and a poster in the igloo make it a replica army camp. Live guns
were used under the supervision of ISPR. They gave empty shells for firing and also showed
them how to use the guns convincingly and also safely. ISPR also helped them
with their uniforms, props and set to get the real feel and look. The set
remains the same throughout, and the change in act and scene (sometimes played offstage)
is seamless.
To immerse the actors into the characters they play, the cast of ‘jawans’,
‘sobedar’, ‘cook’, and ‘captain’ was put under virtual house arrest in Islamabad
for four long months. To feel the desperation of isolation, they had to live without
their laptops and cellphones. They had to write letters to their family once a
week, to understand its significance as the only means of communication. For this
duration they were also under PMA training to build their physique, with a
strict diet of boiled food, and grew out their hair and beards to look the
part.
Then they spent another grueling 20 days in Siachen with the soldiers
stationed there. They interacted with them and heard their stories, and got a
real feel of the bunkers and the checkposts. Some of the cast who spoke the Pashtun
dialect effortlessy did so partly because they are Pashtun. KopyKats tried to
represent a bit of every culture and community in casting the soldiers.
A soldier who had served for three years at Siachen and who was present
at the play lauded the efforts of the play to show the soldiers' story.
“ Though the extreme harshness of Siachen cannot be fully shown in
a play, it does give a fair idea of the conditions there. It is so tough that
even the toughest people melt there. It is more than frozen for more than 6
months of the year. Simple things like eating and drinking are a challenge. Often
there is a lot of firing. The only one you have with you is Allah; He is the
only one you can remember.” This was also a recurrent refrain in the play.
Siachen was shown at Islamabad and Lahore and will also show at Multan,
Peshawar, and Faisalabad, the first time theatre will be taken out of the usual
audience. With its patriotic theme it should be a good introductory play.
Details of the play can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/events/439085026299678/
