KARACHI: The Arts Council of Pakistan held a theatrical production constituting of three short pieces written by Bee Gul on Saturday and Sunday.

Originally, the performances were slated for three days, starting from Friday, but inclement weather forced the organisers to cancel day one of the show. The plays were called Badal Gaey Ho, Prologue and 15 Minute Aur. The last one was based on a short story by the Columbian Nobelwinning author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Directed by Khalid Ahmad, Badal Gaey Ho has Fawad Khan and Kaif Ghaznavi in the cast. When the play begins, the former is seen sitting on a bench at a bus stop.

Comes in the latter with a phone in her hand. Although they seem to be from different social backgrounds, the lines that the characters say underline a connection and a strained man-woman relationship.

There`s a third character as well, who adds humour to the plot and gives another layer to the man-woman equation; the actor`s name wasn`t given by the organisers on the promotional poster. Badal Gaey Hogave off a vibe as if it`s a shortened version of one of the 1980s PTV long plays.

Prologue is about an aging actor (Khalid Ahmad) who is thinking about the breaks (waqfa) in life that he could have had. Prologue means the opening act of a work of art that has a separate place vis-à-vis the main narrative flow.

The mention of mental stress makes the story oscillate between what`s real and what`s imagined. The monologue that Ahmad had to utter during the performance came across more like an excerptreading from an afsana, which is fine.

Sometimes theatricality can be sacrificed at the altar of meaningfulness.

The director of the third act, Fawad Khan, did not mention in his opening remarks on Saturday from which Marquez story 15 Minute Aur was taken, but by the looks of it, one thinks, it was The Woman Who Came at Six O` Clock. It tells the story of a prostitute (Ghaznavi) who comes tothe restaurant of an old man AbdulFateh (A h m a d) every day.One day she goads him into confessing that he loves her and can do anything for her, even if that includes killing a man.

Again, there`s an interplay of the real and the desired that`s on display. The piecehad songs as well which can qualify it as a musical.

In the last bit, the actors had mics on because of which they sounded clearer to the audience.