Saife Hasan
Saife Hasan is an actor and director for television. He began his career in theatre with Tehrik e Niswan in 1997 in Karachi, and performed in numerous plays both in Pakistan and internationally before venturing towards direction for television. He has worked independently for several production houses, including Hum TV. His notable award winning works include Sung e Mur Mur, and Sung e Mah and Ahd e Wafa. Saife Hasan is one of the co-founders of Zambeel Dramatic Readings and has been performing with the group since 2011.
3:00 PM -4:00 PM Performance
Saturday 1st Feb
Muntakhab Tehreerain: Ismat Chughtai aur Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi Presented By Zambeel
Location: Central Garden
Zambeel Dramatic Readings was founded with a view to present texts from Urdu literature in a dramatised form to a live audience, creating a dynamic collusion between literature and performance. Referencing traditions of storytelling and the contemporary form of the radio play, the productions traverse time and geographical boundaries to interpret and enliven narratives through sound and recitation. The Zambeel performers imbue texts with a poignant expressive quality and perform narratives that are supported by a soundscape, enriching the aural experience of the audience through acoustics and narration. Zambeel Dramatic Readings was founded by Mahvash Faruqi, Asma Mundrawala and Saife Hasan in 2011. The word Zambeel Referencing the legendary tales of the Hamzanama, the Zambeel is a furry bag of tricks that belonged to Umar Ayyar (also written as Amar), a trickster and loyal companion to Amir Hamza, the hero of the Hamzanama. Alluding to the magical properties of this bag that yielded boundless possibilities, the choice of the word Zambeel suggests not just its infinite nature, but also its relationship to the enduring tradition of storytelling.