Balkan Theatre Stages 'Burrnesha' at World Culture Festival

An Italian theatre group, Balkan Theatre, staged a play titled Burrnesha at the World Culture Festival on Wednesday evening, highlighting women's struggles against patriarchal challenges. Music from Pakistan's Mehran region was another major attraction of the event.

The play, Burrnesha, explores an old Albanian tradition in which a woman assumes the legal and social role of a man after taking a vow of celibacy. The tradition reflects the challenges women face in patriarchal societies and the difficult choices they make to overcome social restrictions.

Directed by Valbona Xibri, the drama features Maryna as the central character. The story follows a woman whose life changes after her father's death, leaving her alone with her mother in a small town in northern Albania. Living without a male family member presents difficulties, while the available marriage options do not appeal to her. She eventually decides to live as a man, although the transition brings its own challenges.

Key Highlights:

• Italian theatre group Balkan Theatre staged Burrnesha, highlighting women's struggles against patriarchy through an Albanian cultural tradition
• Ethiopian artist Kaleab created a mural at the Arts Council, drawing inspiration from Karachi's cityscape
• The World Culture Festival featured children's theatre, Pakistani film screenings and a Mehran Night concert with regional musicians

The show is mostly a solo performance with visual projections behind the stage on screen. The films consist of a series of videos of men residing in the remote area that depict elements of the protagonist's life once she has taken on a man's identity.

The theatre group portrays the challenges faced by women trying to break free from the patriarchal system during the performance.

The mural making activities were carried out on the walls of the Arts Council while the festival venue was enriched with the artistic elements. Ethiopian artist Kaleab Alemayehu was one of the artists who joined in.

Speaking to Dawn about his art, Kaleab said that he had found a close bond with Karachi and the people of this city. He said the mural was done as a tribute to the Arts Council and the inspiration came from the city's landscape, which he created with acrylic paints.

The activities of the festival started earlier on Wednesday with a play for children, Madoom, directed by Afreen Seher and Vijdan Shah. These were followed by a series of Pakistani films, such as Karmash, Talish, Dariya Ke Iss Paar and Indus Echoes.

Mehran Night, a music concert, was also part of the program for the day, drawing the attention of music lovers. The planned performers included Mai Dhai, Rajab Faqir, Wahab Bugti and Mazhar Hussain who were the representatives of the musical culture of Mehran.