Classical drama: Societies

Alhamra is the heart of Lahore as Lahore is the cultural capital of the country. Alhamra is a successor to a society with the name of Pakistan Arts Council founded on December 10, 1949. Alhamra is basically an Arabic word, which literally means a woman in “Red Clothes”. This was the name initially given to the Royal enclave at Cordoba Spain by the Arabs. The palaces and other buildings were constructed in red bricks. The idea of constructing buildings of this style for an Arts Council was conceived by our illustrious Architect Mr. Nayyar Ali Dada. Since the buildings in Spain were in red colour, the bricks used for Alhamra’s building are also red in colour. The building has been awarded Agha Khan International Award for excellent architecture.

Ajoka Theatre (Urdu: اجوکا ناٹک‬, literal translation of Ajoka: "today/present") is a Pakistani not-for-profit arts organization based in Lahore, Punjab, with focus on producing and performing social theatrical stage productions, founded in 1984. The group was formed by director, actress and playwright, Madeeha Gauhar at peak of the tensions during the state of emergency under the regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Ajoka Theatre received the prestigious Prince Claus Award in 2006 and the International Theatre Pasta Award in 2007. Since its inception, the group have staged many popular society critical pieces in theatres, on the streets and in public spaces, as well as in productions for television and on video.

The Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) was setup to spearhead the development of arts in Pakistan. Its aims to build a robust arts ecosystem by creating an environment conducive to the flourishing of the arts, where the arts are accessible to everyone and artists and art groups have the commitment, financial support and resource and to excel at home, and on the world stage. A holistic and integrated cluster development approach was initiated to develop the arts ecosystem. Dedicated teams were established to champion the performing, visual and literary art forms.

Theatre Wallay is a company consisting of amateur artists, including actors, directors, writers, graphic artists, set designers, technicians. As a group of people with a passion for theatre and literature, we organise plays, readings, workshops and other activities consistent with our goal for providing good clean theatre to Islamabad. Théâtre Wallay aims at promoting quality theatre and giving people a platform to express themselves through this medium.