Sibte Hassan
Correspondent, Karachi Pakistan
Syed Sibte Hassan Rizvi is a seasoned multimedia journalist with over 12 years of experience. He has worked as a news correspondent, covering various beats for Pakistan's leading news channels.
Kish Festival Iran
Ashmal Lalwany
Tayraak won Best Script Award at Kish Festival performing without dialogue.
The play explores generational trauma through movement and music.
Performed on Kish’s beach venue, the silent play adapted uniquely to outdoor space.
A Pakistani theater play performed entirely without dialogue has won the Best Script Award at the 6th Kish International Short Theater Festival in Iran, marking a breakthrough for the country’s contemporary theater scene. Tayraak, directed by Karachi-based movement coach and NAPA alumnus Ashmal Lalwany, captivated audiences through expressive movement and innovative storytelling.
The play was written and performed by Suleman Roomi, Hashir Faraz and Farhan Ahsan, who brought the powerful narrative of generational trauma to life through choreography and body language.
Ashmal shared insights about the journey of Tayraak:
"We were fortunate to receive generous partial sponsorship from CFAW (Nani Ghar) and the NAPA Alumni Network, as I am a NAPA alumnus. The rest was self-funded.”
Audience experiencing Tayraak.Ashmal Lalwany
The play originated from a segment of a movement-based production Ashmal staged recently at Karachi’s Arts Council with final-year students.
What makes it even more special is that the play borrows both its name and soul from Bayaan’s song Tayraak — a movement-driven performance where music and choreography speak louder than words.
The Kish festival features multiple locations for performances, including a cafe and a ship deck, but Ashmal’s team utilized the beach venue for Tayraak.
“The beach was where we performed our play. We adapted the narrative to fit this outdoor space,” he explained.
Among the nine performances on the beach, Tayraak was the only one presented purely through movement. The other performances were in Persian, a language unfamiliar to the Pakistani team, while our Urdu language was unfamiliar to the audience.
“This silence helped us transcend language barriers,” Ashmal said. “The story was simple but generated a huge response and strong appreciation from the festival jury.”
Tayraak’s win highlights Pakistan’s rising presence in global theater and showcases the fresh, boundary-pushing creativity coming from Karachi’s vibrant arts community.
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