Let's Play

Let's Play focuses on sharing and reflective practice to introduce art to youth and to enable art workers, especially youth and less experienced trainers, to become empowered through a process of sharing, learning and understanding, using different art forms. Through "Let's Play", Rahs aims to create a network of youth art practitioners which will help to exchange information about community work and ideas as well as to work together, interact and build relationships. The project aims to present diverse voices of youth about issues which affect their daily lives and to engage them in positive art activity to address educational, social, environmental and human rights concerns, while promoting and celebrating cultural diversity and ideas. The major objectives of this project are to:

• Initiate dialogue among Asian artists/activists on theatre and art for continuous cultural exchange;
• Commence a productive exchange of process oriented and issue based approaches in theatre and arts in Asia;
• Enable art workers to become empowered through a process of learning;
• Promote a culture of tolerance, dialogue and discussion; and
• Make efforts to rekindle dying regional arts and culture.

The project has been developed with several stages in mind.

• In the first phase of the project, the focus is on finding key persons and trainers, and contacting with a number of theatre makers from the region. Local groups and individuals will be contacted for participation in the initiative.
• In the second phase of the project, the internet will be used to facilitate communication among the participating organisations. Initial face-to-face workshops will also be held to provide training in basic skills of theatre and group dynamics.
• In the third phase of the project, the focus will be on learning and creating the productions. Selected trainers from Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and India will be invited to Pakistan where the will hold theatre workshops with youth groups. Workshops and discussion sessions will also be held to encourage foreign and local artists to work together. These workshops will be scheduled in four different cities (Depalpur, Okara, Sahiwal, Lahore) designed for youth from colleges and universities.

Rahs performs plays only in the mother language of its audience - the people of Punjab. The group believes that "the mother language lies at the heart of the issue of cultural identity and is central to the political struggle of the down trodden classes as well in our part of the world."

Conflict Resolution, Youth

Punjab Lok Rahs has worked as an independent alternative theatre group since 1986. Rahs draws inspiration from Punjab's indigenous theatre tradition. Its name 'Rahs' is the Punjabi word for local form of theatre and its logo shows the basic props of this theatre. The group aims to marry the tradition with modern techniques and concepts and make it an effective tool in the hands of organisations working for social change. The initiative, is a continuity of efforts of Punjab Lok Rahs to create a network between the young students of different educational institutions to share theatrical work and strengthen such activities. This effort will open up more spaces for meaningful theatre in Pakistan and will help out to use theatre for development in variant ways. They hope that this process will initiate a dialogue within theatre makers in Asia to collaborate and strengthen community arts in the region.