56th Production
(October 2010)
JUNGAL JUNGAL ZINDABAD (LONG LIVE THE JUNGLE)
Translated for Tehrik e Niswan in Urdu by eminent poet Fehmida Riaz.
Based on Vikram Seth’s poem The Elephant and the Tragopan from the Beastly Tales
55th Production (March 2010) - TLISM 2
CLASSICAL DANCE RECITAL

54th Production
(March 2010) - TLISM 2
JANG AB NAHIN HOGI ( THERE WILL BE NO WAR ) - AN ANTI-WAR COMEDY FOR ADULTS
Based on Aristophanes’ Lysistrata

53rd Production
(March 2010) - TLISM 2
ZIKR-E-NASHUNIDA- AN ANTI-WAR PLAY
52nd Production (March 2010) - TLISM 2
PEACE DREAMS - MODERN DANCE BALLET

51st Production
(March 2010) - TLISM 2
RANG BADAL LO BHAI - A SATIRE
Based on Anton Chekhov’s story Chameleon

50th Production
(March 2010) - TLISM 2
INSHA KA INTEZAR - A TRAGIC COMEDY
It illustrates the poignancy, oppression, camaraderie, hope, exploitation and bewilderment of human experience - a strange combination of comedy and pathos

49th Production
(March 2010) - TLISM 2
SONG OF MOHENJODARO-A BALLET

48th Production
(March 2010)
JANG AB NAHIN HOGI ( THERE WILL BE NO WAR )
Performed at the South Asian Women's Theatre Festival, New Delhi.

47th Production
(March 2009) - TLISM
EK HAZAR AUR EK THI RATEIN (THERE WERE A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS)
Five tales extracted from the epic tale.

46th Production
(March 2009) - TLISM
USS BEWAFA KAY SHEHR MAIN
Based on Somerset Maugham’s The Constant Wife

45th Production
(March 2009) - TLISM
ISMAT KI DO KAHANIYAN - KAAFIR AUR AMAR BEL
Based on Ismat Chughtai’s short stories

44th Production
(March 2009) - TLISM
JINNAY LAHORE NAHIN VEKHYA (THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN LAHORE)
A story set around Partition
43rd Production (March 2009) - TLISM
BIRJEES QADAR KA KUNBA
Based on Lorca’s The House of Bernada Alba

42nd Production
(March 2009) - TLISM
RAQS KARO (DANCE)
Presentation of modern and traditional Dance

41st Production
(March 2009) - TLISM
ANJI
Based on Vijay Tendulkar’s play Anji

40th Production
(October 2008)
INSHA KA INTEZAAR
It illustrates the poignancy, oppression, camaraderie, hope, exploitation and bewilderment of human experience - a strange combination of comedy and pathos



Written by:
Anwer Jafri
Source Material:
Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot
Director:
Anwer Jafri
Cast:
Sheema Kermani, Salim Meraj, Hafeez Ali, Shama Askari, Maha Shahid

39th Production
(June 2008)
ISMAT KI DO KAHANIAN
Two famous stories, one about a Muslim girl marrying a Hindu boy and the other about the marriage of a young woman to a much older man.



KAAFIR

Written by: Anwer Jafri
Source Material: Ismat Chughtai
Director: Anwer Jafri
Cast: Asma Mundrawala, Salim Meraj

AMAR BEL
Written by: Asma Mundrawala
Source Material: Ismat Chughtai
Director: Asma Mundrawala Cast: Mahvash Faruqi, Asma Mundrawala, Saif Hasan, Sheema Kermani

38th Production
(March 2008)
WOYZECK
The “perennial tragedy of human jealousy” and the conflict between power and powerlessness




Adapted & Written by:
Anwer Jafri
Source Material: George Buchner's “Woyzeck”
Director: Anwer Jafri & Sheema Kermani
Cast: Adnan Shah, Hafeez Ali, Mani Chao, Rubya Chaudhry, Shazia Qamar, Imran Khan, Salim Meraj, Sheema Kermani

37th Production
(August 2007)
JINNAY LAHORE NAHIN VEKHYA
A story of 1947 set in Lahore.




Adapted by:
Anwer Jafri
Playwright: Asghar Wajahat
Director: Anwer Jafri and Sheema Kermani
Cast: Salim Meraj, Asma Mundrawala, Adnan, Zeerak, Saif Hasan, Adnan Shah, Hafeez Ali, Sonu, Imran, Mahvash Faruqi
Repeat Performances: November 2007
Toured India and was performed in 11 cities.

36th Production
(March 2007)
RAQS KARO
A dance drama about the story of woman – “Raqs” or dance being a symbol of freedom and liberation.




Source Material:
Fahmida Riaz
Choreographer: Sheema Kermani
Director: Sheema Kermani
Dancers: Huma Naz, Suhaee Abro, Minha Jawed, Iman, Leila, Abid, Asif, Baber
Repeat Performance: December 2007

35thProduction
(April 2006)
GURRYA KA GHAR
A woman decides to leave her home and discover herself.




Adapted & Written by:
Anwer Jafri
Source Material: Henrik Ibsen's “A Doll's House”
Director: Anwer Jafri
Cast: Mahvash Faruqi, Asma Mundrawala, Mani Chao, Saif Hasan, Salim Meraj, Sheema Kermani
Repeat Performances: February, 2007

34th Production
(March 2005)
ZIKR-E-NASHUNIDA
The play deals with the aftermath of war.




Written by:
Prasanna Ramaswamy
Translated by: Anwer Jafri
Source Material: Euripides “Trojan Women”, Les Smith, Julia Starzky
Director: Prasanna Ramaswamy
Cast: Mahvash Faruqi, Asma Mundrawala, Shazia Qamar, Shama Askari, Shama Altaf, Saif Hasan, Salim Meraj, Atif Siddiqui, Mehmood Bhatti, Sheema Kermani

Performed in India Dec 2005

33rd Production
(January 2005)
AKHIR KYUN
Based on true incidents and case studies of Honour Killing. Provokes an active dialogue on Honour Killing.



Written by: Anwer Jafri
Source Material: Case-studies of Honour Killings
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Shazia Qamar, Mehmood Bhatti, Rehana Channar, Afaq, Rehmatullah, Mohd Ali

This play toured Sind and Punjab as Mobile Theatre and has had over 100 performances.
32nd Production (August 2004)
IN THE WOMEN'S COURT

Written by: Sheema Kermani
Source Material: Case-studies of victims of Hudood Ordinance
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Mahvash Faruqi, Asma Mundrawala, Saif Hasan, Sheema Kermani

31st Production
(March 2004 )
RANG BADAL LO BHAI
A hilarious satire on the hypocrisy and morality of society.




Written by:
Anwer Jafri
Source Material: Anton Chekhov’s story “Chameleon”
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Shazia Qamar, Shama Altaf, Mehmood Bhatti, Sanober, Anwer, Salim and Sheema Kermani

30th Production
(July 2003)
DHIYAN MALE PARDES
Forced marriages and women’s right to choose. The script is based on real-life case studies of girls who are daughters of immigrant families from Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, born and brought-up in UK, but forced into marriages against their will.


Author/Playwright: Anwer Jafri
Source Material: Original/Case Studies
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Amjad Ansari, Asma Mundrawala, Mahvash Faruqi, Mehmood Bhatti, Saif Hasan, Sheema Kermani

29th Production (March 2003)
MERI ZINDAGI KA SAFAR
Raises issues of the adolescent- girl -child, menstruation, and reproductive health of women.




Author/Playwright:
Tehrik collective
Source Material: Attiya Dawood
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Amjad Ansari, Mani Chao, Asma Mundrawala, Mahvash Faruqi, Shazia Qamar, Mehmood Bhatti, Sheema Kermani, Shazia Farouqi.

This play was originally created for the Mobile Theatre.

 

28th Production
(September 2002)
AAJ RUNG HAI
A dance drama showing the development of the Kathak dance.




Choreographer:
Sheema Kermani
Director: Sheema Kermani
Dancers: Abid, Roohi, Ashraf, Abbas, Shama, Huma, Abbas, Asif, Sheema
Repeat Performances: April 2003, March 2005, October 2007

27th Production
(April 2002)
JANG AB NAHIN HOGI
Fed up with the regime of war and violence perpetrated by men in the patriarchal social set-up, women finally decide to take action and assume control of affairs. The hilarious comedy ends with some very sobering reflections about the state of affairs in our sub-continent.


Adapted & Translated by: Fahmida Riaz
Source Material: Lysistrata
Author/Playwright: Aristophanes
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Mahvash Faruqi, Shazia Qamar, Mehmood Bhatti, Atif Siddiqi, Hasan Nasir, Shazia Farouqi, Sheema Kermani.

Scenes from this play have been adapted for the Mobile Theatre and performed at many Events, Conferences and Seminars.

26th Production
(September 2001)
JUNGLE JUNGLE ZINDABAD
In this delightful musical, a delegation of forest-dwelling animals and the common man unite to defeat the antics of greedy and corrupt third-world leaders/bureaucrats who are on the verge of destroying the environment by building an unnecessary dam.


Adapted & translated by:
Fahmida Riaz
Source Material:
The Elephant and the Tragopan from “Tales From Near And Far”
Author: Vikram Seth
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Asma Mundrawala, Saif Hasan, Ather Abbas, Mehmood Bhatti, Shazia Qamar, Ehteshamuddin, Sheema Kermani.

25th Production
(September 2000)
AN INSPECTOR CALLS
Who is to be blamed when a young woman commits suicide?




Adapted by:
Sheema Kermani
Author/Playwright: J B Priestley
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Khalid Ahmad, Mervyn Hosain, Shehnaz Ismail, Sumeeya Mujahid.

24th Production
(October 1999)
USS BEWAFA KAY SHEHR MAIN
A witty comedy about a seemingly docile housewife who decides to pay back her philandering husband in the same coin.
Adapted & translated by: Khalid Ahmad


Source Material: The Constant Wife
Playwright: Somerset Maugham
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Ayesha Alam, Shehnaz Ismail, Kamran Anwar, Shama Askari, Sheema Kermani
23rd Production (November 1998)
THE INFORMER
In English translation, about how a family copes with fascism.

Playwright: Bertolt Brecht
Director: Stefanie Oberhoff
Cast: Khalid Ahmad, Sheema Kermani

22nd Production
(February 1998)
EK HAZAR AUR EK THI RATEIN
A musical play taken from the stories of “A Thousand and One Nights”, bringing to the surface the problems related to the position of women.



Written by:
Jamil Ahmad
Translated by: Khalid Ahmed and Dr Asif Faruki
Source Material: “Tales From A Thousand And One Nights”
Director: Syed Jamil Ahmad
Cast: Mahvash Faruqi, Asma Mundrawala, Saif Hasan, Ehteshamuddin, Athar Abbas, Mehmood Bhatti, Shazia Qamar, Amjad Ansari, Sheema Kermani, Khalid Ahmad.
Repeat Performance: Dec 1999. This play has toured India and participated at the Nandikar Festival

 

21st Production
(December 1997)
ROSHNI KAY DAREECHAY
A play about religious tolerance and intolerance set in a historical context.




Adapted & Translated by:
Khalid Ahmad
Source Material: Nathan The Wise
Author / Playwright: G. E. Lessing.
Director: Jurgen Zielinski
Cast: Ehteshamuddin, Akbar Subhani, Khalid Ahmad, Nilofar Manzur, Sheema Kermani

20th Production
(May 1996)
SULTAN KA FAISLA
The play highlights the supremacy of the law over the sword and of the human heart over both. The Sultan’s dilemma is intertwined with the destiny of a woman who is a patron of the arts and who in the end proves that those imbued with the arts are the real lovers of life, freedom and justice.


Adapted by:
Asif Farrukhi
Source Material: Al Sultan Al Ha’ir
Author/ Playwright: Tawfiq-el-Hakim
Director: Khalid Ahmad & Gholam Sarwar
Cast: Latif Kapadia, Hasan Nasir, Ehteshamuddin, Athar Abbas, Sheema Kermani.

19th Production
(March 1995)
MAIN KON HOON / WHO AM I
A One Woman Dance Theatre




Written by
: Sheema Kermani
Source Material: Franca Rame’s “Female Parts”
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Sheema Kermani

This has had many performances locally and abroad.

18th Production
(September 1994)
AGLAY JANAM MOHAY BITYA NA KIJO
A young girl is kept locked in her house and has to pay a heavy price for seeking a bit of harmless entertainment.



Playwright: Khalid Ahmad
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Atif Siddiqi, Hasan Nasir, Sheema Kermani, Saadat Zehra.

This play has been adapted for the Mobile Theatre and has had many performances.

17th Production
(March 1993)
MERA GHAR MERI JANNAT
A one- woman play about a harassed and overworked housewife, kept behind locked doors.




Adapted by:
Sheema Kermani
Source Material: “A Woman Alone” by Dario Fo & Franca Rame
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Sheema Kermani
Repeat Performances: April 1994, Nov 1995

 

16th Production (November 1992)
COME AND SEE THE BLOOD IN THE STREET
A multi media programme on violence, consisting of readings, skits and dances

Source Material: Tagore, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Sadat Hasan Manto, Pablo Neruda
Cast: Khalid Ahmed, Sheema Kermani

15th Production
(October 1992)
YAHAN SE SHEHR KO DEKHO
Created through a series of workshops, the play focuses on violence in Karachi and how people are brutalised.



Playwright: Khalid Ahmad
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Nuzhat Kidvai, Rashid Farouqi, Mohammad Ahmad, Savera Nadeem, Rashid Sami and Sheema Kermani.
Repeat Performances: November 1992 & August 1993

14th Production
(May 1992)
THE SONG OF MOHENJODARO
A ballet about the origins of dance




Choreographer:
Sheema Kermani
Dancers: Sheema, Amjad, Mani, Ahmed, Angela, Karen, Helen, Asma, Zohra, Hoori, Nida, Mahnaz, Albert, Maryam, Nafisa, Mona
Repeat Performances: March 1993, April1994, Nov1999

13th Production
(September 1991)
JIS GHARI RAAT CHALAY
Based on true case studies of mental patients, woven together into a powerful indictment of the psychological and sexual violence that frequently surrounds the institution of Piri-Mureedi.



Playwright:
Musaddiq Sanwal
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Sheema Kermani, Mohammad Ahmad, Zehra Hussain, Rooha Ghaznavi

12th Production
(June 1991)
JINNAY LAHORE NAHIN VEKHYA
Set in Lahore immediately after partition, it tells the dramatic story of an old Hindu woman left behind in an abandoned Haveli.



Playwright: Asghar Wajahat
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Indu Mitha, Nuzhat Kidvai, Rashid Sami, Khalid Ahmad, Mohammad Ahmad.

11th Production (August 1989
)
THREE ONE-ACT PLAYS
A search for identity and new emotional bonds amongst crumbling values.




Neend Kyon Raat Bhar Nahin Ati

Playwright: Surendra Verma
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Sheema Kermani, Sumera Saeed, Nida Alvi

Samjhaoon To Samjha Na Sakoon

Playwright: Surendra Verma
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Khalid Ahmed, Akbar Subhani

Woh Naak Say Booltain Hain

Playwright: Surendra Verma
Director: Amna Jaffer
Cast: Sheema Kermani, Nuzhat Kidvai, Tazeen Hussain

10th Production
(May 1989)
TAFTEESH
A young woman commits suicide! – Who is responsible?
The play asserts that people are driven towards suicide by the callous and unfettered exploitation of sex and class in our society.


Adapted by: Khalid Ahmad from “An Inspector Calls”
Playwright: J.B. Priestley
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Dr. Mervyn Hosain, Akbar Subhani, Shehnaz Ismail, Khalid Ahmad, Saad Iqbal & Sheema Kermani

 

9th Production
(March 1988)
CHADAR AUR CHARDIWARI
An uncannily faithful portrayal of the lives of a vast majority of unmarried girls living under the yoke of brutally repressive feudal male values in a world dominated by twisted notions of honour, tradition and social oppression.


Adapted by: Raguhvir Sahay from Feredrico Garcia Lorca’s “House of Bernada Alba”
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Khursheed Shahid, Mehreen Elahi, Sheema Kermani, Shireen Naqvi, Fari Shakeel, Saba Peerzada, Uzma Shakir
8th Production (August 1987)
GIRGIT
A hilarious comedy highlighting the corruption of the bureaucracy and the state.

Translated & Adapted by: Khalid Ahmad
Source Material: Anton Chekhov’s “The Chameleon”
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Imran Aslam, Sohail Siddiqui

7th Production
(March 1986)
SOO-E-DAAR CHALAY
Based on Jean Anouilh’s “Antigone”. Arjumand the protagonist of the play, carries the banner of courage and defiance by rejecting a life of compromises and saying “No” to dictatorial authority.



Adapted by:
Khalid Ahmad
Playwright: Jean Anouilh
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Sheema Kermani, Nuzhat Kidvai, Shakeel, Khalid Ahmad.
Repeat Performance: Nov 1986

6th Production
(March 1985)
ANJI
Based on the original Marathi play “Anji” is about the comic and tragic aspects of Anji’s search for a husband.



Adapted by:
Khalid Ahmad
Playwright: Vijay Tendulkar.
Director: Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Sheema Kermani, Khalid Ahmad, Latif Kapadia, Imran Aslam, Anjum Ayaz
Repeat Performances: March 1986, May 1987, Sept 1989, May 1999

5th Production
(July 1984)
KHIRMAN, DAAGH & TEEN AURTEIN
Three one-act plays about women who struggle for dignity in a society which discriminates against them.



Khirman: Adapted by Nighat Jamil & Sheema Kermani
Daagh: Written by Khatija Mastoor
Teen Aurtein: Adapted by Sheema Kermani & Khalid Ahmad.
Source Material: Khatijah Mastoor’s stories.
Director: Sheema Kermani & Khalid Ahmad
Cast: Yasmin Ismail, Akbar Subhani, Nuzhat Kidvai, Sheema Kermani, Beena Sarwar, Alvia Rahman
4th Production (June 1982)
SILSILA-E-ROZ-O-SHAB
A Ballet in contemporary dance- Roz and Shab take human forms, and the dances are woven into the theme to express the cycle of Time.

Source Material: Allama Mohammad Iqbal
Director & Choreographer: Meher Nigar Masroor
Cast: Amna Shahbaz, Mehreen Elahi, Rumina Kermani, Saira Islam, Sadia Khan.

3rd Production
(June 1982)
AURAT
A one-act play in the street theatre genre- depicting scenes from women’s lives.




Adapted by:
Sheema Kermani
Playwright: Safdar Hashmi
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Samina Peerzada & actors of Ali Ahmed’s “Natak”

This play has been further adapted by Tehrik for its Mobile Theatre and has had more than 300 performances.
2nd Production (December 1981)
BUT WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY
A play in English, about women’s right to control their bodies and their “right to choose” – abortion.

Adapted by: Sheema Kermani
Playwright: Mary Lamb.
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Yasmin Ismail, Usman Peerzada

1st Production
(December 1980)
DARD KAY FASLAY
A poetic and symbolic play in which “Zindagi”- an allegorical character visits five oppressed women who never even heard of Zindagi.



Written by: Sheema Kermani
Source Material: Amrita Preetam’s stories.
Director: Sheema Kermani
Cast: Badar Khalil, Sajeda Qureshi, Nazi Sheikh, Sarwat Sultana, Zehra Hussain
Repeat Performances: April 1982 & December 1984