UAE’s theater scene is a salad bowl of performing arts in English, Arabic, French, Italian, Hindi, Urdu, Greek and more. For the local community, it adds to the multi-national environment of the country, giving expats the opportunity to explore other cultures.
One such Urdu language original production from Pakistan, Na-Mukammal, which literally translated means ‘Incomplete’, is coming to Dubai in January 2023. The show is one of the most popular productions from Pakistan’s local community scene and was Spotify’s first ever sponsorship in the country.
This is only the second Pakistani theatrical production to come to UAE, and the first one ever to be staged at the hip and vibrant Al-Serkal Avenue.Na Mukammal is a drama that is based on deep human conditioning and emotion. A play about all that is left unsaid in our lives and the impact these silences have on those we love. This original play explores themes of longing, jealousy and the self-destructive nature of love.
Qasim and Noor are deeply in love till one evening in June 1969 Qasim finds some letters addressed to his wife. He is consumed with jealousy and a sense of betrayal but he remains silent. Noor is devastated when she discovers that Qasim knows about the letters. However she also stays silent. The silence between them grows and consumes their relationship and casts a shadow on their lives for a long time. The story promises to resonate cross-culturally, hopefully letting people in the audience relate and perhaps see shades of their lives being unfolded on stage. The show will have English subtitles as well to facilitate the multilingual audience of UAE.The cast and crew are true theater artists who have been brought up in the local culture scene back home. They are professionally trained actors with diplomas in acting having trained under legends like Zia Mohyuddin and Rahat Kazmi.
They have all had their individual struggles with one almost losing his life, to another’s home being washed away losing in Pakistan’s super floods this year, to artists having made their passports for the very first time to traveling internationally. Their incomplete stories, being completed!Na Mukammal’s visionary, Hasnain’s (Writer/Director/Actor) father has been working as a RTG crane operator at the Jebel Aliport for nearly 20 years handling containers from ship to shore and back. Now his son is performing a show in this beautiful land! Hasnain’s is a true Dubai success story. It is because of his fathers labors that today his son could dream and perform in this glamorous land of opportunity that we call Dubai. An Incomplete story, being completed!
Although they have won multiple laurels back home, this is the first time they are going global–and what better place to start, than the UAE!The show is playing at the Junction Theatre in Al-Serkal Avenue on Saturday and Sunday the 7th and 8thof January 2023 with shows at 7.30 pm on both days. The cast and crew will hold an interactive session with the audiences post each show.An original drama centered around jazz music, Na Mukammal is written and directed by Hasnain Raza.
“I wrote this play only so I could play all my favorite songs in a large theater hall. When I penned it, I didn’t have any grand ideas for the story, just my love for classical jazz. My friends hated my playlist so I wrote this play, casted them [for the initial run] and made them fall in love with the music,” said Hasnain Raza, writer and director of NaMukammal.
The original play is produced by award winning documentarian turned actor Hani Taha under her banner Hangami Productionsin collaboration with Tall Tales Production (UAE) and The Junction Theatre (UAE).“When I first saw Na Mukammal staged, I was blown away by its use of music, live rain, exquisite lights and a story so freshand impactful that we had never seen in Pakistan. In over 5 years something original was put out and I instantly knew that this was a project that needed to be shown across the world as an emblem of our culture,” said producer/actor Hani Tahaon why she chose to bank on Na Mukammal.
Asad Raza Khan, CEO and Founder of Tall Tales Productions, is happy to welcome such a production to Dubai. “We have seen a lot of famous productions come to Dubai, but we felt it was time to bring artists who are dominating the local scene in specific regions. Hangami Productions are as true theater artists as can be.
Gautam Goenka, Owner and Co-Founder of The Junction Theatre, says it is critical to support grass root international talent to come for the benefit of local community theater.
The shows in Dubai will be performed on the 7th and 8th of January 2023 at The Junction Theatre in Al-Serkal Avenue. There will be an evening shows at 7 30 pm each day with a special interaction with the cast and crew post each show. This is being done to encourage local talent and students to come engage with the international artists. The show is primarily in Urdu/Hindi, but can be easily understood by people not speaking the language as well. To further facilitate the multi-national audience ofUAE, there will be English subtitles in the show.
