Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop presents 29th International Puppet Festival for the first time in Karachi
Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW), a unique cultural organization with a rich history of conducting cultural festivals in the fields of music, puppetry and theatre on an international scale, hosted an introductory press conference with the Mayor of Karachi at the Arts Council announcing the 29th International Puppet Festival
KARACHI (Pakistan Point News - 4th Feb, 2020) Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW), a unique cultural organization with a rich history of conducting cultural festivals in the fields of music, puppetry and theatre on an international scale, hosted an introductory press conference with the Mayor of Karachi at the Arts Council announcing the 29th International Puppet Festival. This festival is a three-day affair that will take place from the 7th to the 9thof February at BaghIbneQasimin Karachi with the aim to celebrate puppetry in Pakistanand draw in adults and children alike.
RPTW works tirelessly to promote joyful learning through performing arts in Pakistan and they use this power to touch the hearts and minds of Pakistanis. Over the past three decades, RPTW has hosted 28 Puppet Festivals, with 150 puppet theatre companies showcasing work from all around the world. After successfully hosting the Puppet Festival in Lahore for 28 years, it is now coming to Karachi. This is agreat platform for artists to watch, learn and get inspired from each other, while the young audience getsto experience puppetry from different countries and cultures under one roof.
After the brief introduction about RPTW, more details about the fun filled Puppet Festival were shared with media and attendees. The Puppet theatre groups that are participating from Pakistan include, Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop, Al Hamara Lahore Puppet Theatre, PNCA Islamabad Puppet Theatre, Asghar Bahawalpuri Puppet Theatre, Jameel Folk Puppet Theatre (traditional), Aziz Folk Puppet Theatre (traditional) and Juggling Act. The Puppet Theatre groups who have come fromabroad areMoth Theatre from United Kingdom and Kabare Pupala from Germany.
Some of the other activities that will be happening and are mainly children focused include, Magic Show, Story Telling Session, Art Camp, Puppet Making Workshop by Yamina Peerzada, Face Painting and many interactive games. In addition to this, the attendees will also get to witness two outdoor acts; Puppet Mascot Parade andFolk Music Concert with fire dancers, at the festival.
Speaking about the event, SaadaanPeerzada, the Festival Director and CEO of Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop commented saying,“Rafi Peer has been actively involved with puppet workshops for children and young adults across Pakistan in schools and festivals. We use puppetry as a tool for education and social awareness and this year, we are more than thrilled to have the 29th International Puppet Festival take place in Karachi, for the very first time. After many successful runs in Lahore, our hope is to bring this festival to Karachi every year. And a big thanks goes out to Mr. Wasim Akhtar, Mayor of Karachi for his tremendous support, without whom this festival would not have been possible at the beautiful venue that BaghIbneQasim is.”
MrWasim Akhtar, the Mayor of Karachi concluded the press conference after addressing to the attendees where he said, “I feel very happy that this festival is finally happening in Karachi. It is has a rich history attached to it and in my opinion, is a beautiful festival for families where they can watch the real art of puppetry in its truest and magnificent form. I really feel that our children of Karachi need such a festival that is not only entertaining but also very educational and the International Puppet Festival, is in fact a combination of the two.”