'Kanjoos' staged at Arts Council

KARACHI - 'Kanjoos, a play directed by Anjum Ayaz, adapted from French playwright Molieres work titled; 'The Miser was staged at the Arts Council on Friday. It is a five-act hilarious comedy. The miser is a widower, a penny-pinching man who is in love with his money more than his young children. The children highly abhor this love for money practice in him and are both not close to him. He is a man, who sacrifices his daughter to a stupid old man rather than giving her modest dowry; who, on finding it necessary to entertain ten persons at supper, provides for eight only; who counsels his gambling son to lend out at good interest the money he wins; whose love for a young woman yields in the end to avarice; and who is anxious to increase as well as hoard what he possesses. Every scene in which he appears serves to throw fresh light upon his character. Yet, repulsive as is the voice he represents, his presence throws no gloom over the play, partly because he is held up to derision as well as hatred, and partly because all his surroundings are treated in the spirit of the liveliest comedy. The odds were felt in one place, because there was no strong character who could deliver the dialogues properly, except for Zeba Shahnaz (as Fargina) the lead supporting actress who played a strong character of a visitor cum neighbour and of the two servants Rauf Afridi (as a driver-cum-cook) and Minhaj Ali Askari (the man servant) who were crowd-gatherers and people cheered to their way of mimicking. Altogether, 'Kanjoos is a comedy of errors and to be enjoyed by people who are seriously looking out for household wits to give them a sheer treat of laughter and smiles.