Fizza Hasan’s Interview published in the International Arts Manager Magazine
Fizza Hasan, founder and Artistic Director of Theatre Wallay in Islamabad and an ISPA fellow, has spent nearly two decades using the stage to challenge injustice, amplify marginalised voices, and ignite vital conversations. She discusses the power of socially conscious theatre to foster empathy, provoke dialogue, and drive change in Pakistan and beyond with Juliette Barber.
Over nearly two decades, you’ve directed and produced socially conscious theatre with Theatre Wallay. How has your understanding of theatre as a tool for social and political change evolved over time?
Over the years, my understanding of theatre as a tool for social and political change has deepened. From the start, we were drawn to stories rooted in lived realities, social injustice, and the complexities of life in Pakistan. As we staged these works, I realised that theatre’s power lies not only in raising awareness but also in provoking empathy, asking difficult questions and creating shared spaces for dialogue.
This understanding grew through experiences in community projects directly addressing social issues, as well as through engagements with world literature and original plays. Even non-“non-issue-based” plays could be socially conscious, as long as they made us reflect on the world.
For example, productions like Tartuffe explored religious hypocrisy and moral posturing, Antigone examined patriarchy and women’s resistance, and Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui reflected the rise of tyranny through fear and manipulation. These plays, though from other times and places, powerfully spoke to our current realities and were interpreted to reflect them.
Original works like Voices of Partition, based on survivor testimonies and exploring the trauma of displacement, and On Common Ground, a collaborative exploration of identity through the lens of public spaces and shared experiences, showed how devised work can amplify marginalised voices, encourage collective reflection, and encourage intercultural understanding and empathy.
I believe theatre for social change isn’t a formula, it’s an attitude. Whether adapting a classic or creating something new, the key question is: does it deepen our collective understanding, challenge, connect or transform? If it does, it’s already initiating change.
Theatre Wallay’s productions have addressed deeply entrenched social issues—from child marriage and gender-based violence to tolerance and disability inclusion. What drives your choice of themes, and how do you measure the impact of these performances on communities?
At Theatre Wallay, our themes arise from deep listening, collaboration, and an evolving understanding of theatre’s role in society. Many productions are developed with development sector partners, addressing issues like child marriage, gender-based violence, tolerance or disability inclusion. These themes are shaped by donor priorities, but we always ground our work in real stories collected through workshops and interviews, ensuring performances reflect lived experiences.
We’re also drawn to themes that emerge through artistic exploration, such as adapting Antigone to explore patriarchy through the ages or creating original works like Voices of Partition and On Common Ground to examine identity, memory, and coexistence. Our themes are not only driven by immediate social needs but also by deeper questions: What stories need to be told now? What is being silenced? What conversations are we not having?
When working with partners, we sometimes use surveys to measure impact, but the most powerful indicators are informal and immediate: a woman sharing her story after a show, audience members staying to reflect or question, or a community member saying, “I never thought theatre could speak to my life.”
A key measure of impact is the dialogue that follows—not just with us, but among community members. When a performance starts a conversation or reflection, we know it has resonated. For us, impact is about creating space for people to feel, think, and talk in new ways.
Your collaborations with organisations such as UNFPA, UNICEF and various embassies have taken your work into both urban and rural settings. What are some of the unique challenges of performing socially driven theatre across such different cultural and geographic contexts?
Performing socially driven theatre across Pakistan has shown us that audiences respond very differently depending on geography and context. In rural areas, communities are often more open and engaged than expected, even on sensitive topics like child marriage or gender-based violence. Their responses, grounded in lived experience, bring depth to post-show discussions.
Regionally, attitudes vary: interior Sindh in southern Pakistan tends to be open and curious, while certain areas in the north can present more resistance due to cultural norms or unfamiliarity with theatre, requiring trust-building and careful framing. Adapting without diluting the message means using local languages, idioms and references. It also means being responsive to the audience’s context, meeting them where they are, without losing the integrity of what’s being said.
In big cities, there is little response to the theatre for social change plays, possibly because of different lived realities, but larger productions of well-known or original plays often provoke strong reactions, especially when they address shared histories, gender politics or social dynamics. City audiences are also drawn to the entertainment value of bigger performances, which can become a way into deeper reflection and dialogue.
Can you walk us through the process of developing a socially driven play, such as Baat Karo Bhai Baat Karo? How do you balance storytelling with advocacy in this kind of work?
The more complex part of developing a socially driven play is balancing storytelling with advocacy. It’s easy to become overly didactic when addressing serious issues, but theatre loses its power when it sounds like a lecture. Our focus is always on character, conflict and emotional truth. The advocacy is embedded in the characters’ choices, the tensions they face and the questions left unresolved.
We avoid neat solutions or moral conclusions. Instead, we create characters caught in real emotional struggles; some are afraid to speak up, others are drawn to rigid ideologies, and many are unsure of what dialogue even means in a polarised world. Rather than preach, the play asks questions: What pushes someone towards violence? How does peer pressure shape our choices? What role does silence play in allowing harm? By keeping the dilemmas open-ended, we invite the audience to reflect on their own positions and experiences, turning the play into a shared space for questioning rather than instruction.
We believe advocacy is most effective when audiences are treated as emotionally capable and intellectually engaged. We trust the story to carry the message, leaving space for reflection. Often, the most meaningful change begins in the conversations that follow the performance.
Can you describe your approach to creating socially engaged theatre—from initial idea to final performance? How does this process help ensure the work resonates with the communities you’re trying to reach?
Our approach to creating socially engaged theatre is collaborative and community-driven. Whether developing plays for social change, adapting classics or creating original ensemble pieces, we start with fundamental questions: Why this story? Why now? Who needs to hear it, and who needs to see themselves in it?
For socially driven plays, like those created with partners in the development sector, we begin by immersing ourselves in the issue, listening to community voices through workshops, interviews, and story circles. These voices shape the script and ensure that what ends up on stage is not just about people but with and for them. Feedback from these communities during performances helps us refine the play, keeping it relevant and resonant.
When we work with existing texts, like Antigone or Tartuffe, our approach is interpretive and intentional. We interpret the themes to reflect current realities. We contextualise the material to make it feel immediate and connected to local social and political dynamics, allowing audiences to engage with timeless ideas in a way that’s both familiar and fresh.
Original ensemble plays, such as Voices of Partition or On Common Ground, emerge through collective devising. These are often long, layered processes, involving improvisation, writing exercises, and collective reflection. The content emerges from the ensemble’s own experiences or from community stories we gather together. This collective ownership gives the work a kind of emotional honesty that audiences can feel; it’s not top-down; it’s built from the ground up.
Across all these approaches, we emphasise audience engagement; they are not passive receivers, but active participants in a shared conversation.
Theatre for Social Change often involves balancing artistic expression with the objectives of partner organisations or donors. How do you navigate this tension while keeping the voice of the community at the centre of the work?
Balancing artistic integrity with donor objectives is always a negotiation. From the outset, we make it clear to partner organisations that our process is community-centred and story-driven. While we respect the goals of the donor, we don’t start with messages or data, we start with people. Through workshops and storytelling sessions, we gather real voices, emotions and conflicts. These shape the narrative, ensuring the play speaks from the community, not at it.
We also involve partners in early drafts and rehearsals, so they understand the creative process and trust our choices. When done right, the result serves both aims: the donor’s objective is addressed, but through authentic, resonant storytelling. Ultimately, we believe the most effective advocacy comes not from preaching, but from truthful, emotionally grounded art that invites reflection and dialogue.
The Farm in Bani Gala and the Theatre Wallay Den have become vibrant community hubs. What role do these spaces play in fostering creative expression, particularly among young or marginalised voices?
The Farm in Bani Gala, located on the outskirts of the capital, began as a quiet rehearsal and development space, born out of the lack of accessible venues for independent artists in Islamabad. It offered us freedom to think, create and collaborate without external pressures. Over the years, it became a nurturing ground for ensemble work, youth training and community storytelling, including those on the margins of society.
The Farm has an open-air performance space, which allows us to host larger audiences while staying true to the space’s informal, immersive spirit. Surrounded by nature, the setup brings a unique intimacy and immediacy to our performances, creating a powerful connection between artists and audiences.
The Den, which came later, responded to a different need – visibility and access. Located in the heart of Islamabad, it offers a welcoming, public space for small performances, readings, open mic nights and workshops. It draws in diverse communities, including those who may not have engaged with theatre before.
Together, The Farm and The Den have filled a critical gap in Islamabad’s cultural and creative landscape, providing not just physical spaces, but a sense of belonging and creative possibility. They are inclusive, artist-led spaces where diverse voices are heard, supported and celebrated.
You’ve been recognised as a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. What does this international honour mean to you personally, and how do you think it reflects on the evolution of independent theatre in Pakistan?
Being named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres was a deeply meaningful honour. Personally, it connected two lifelong passions, my deep relationship with the French language and culture, and my commitment to theatre. Having studied and taught French for many years and later brought French classics like Tartuffe and Antigone to Pakistani audiences, this recognition felt like a coming together of artistic and cultural journeys.
More broadly, I see it as an acknowledgement of the resilience and evolution of independent theatre in Pakistan. It affirms that our work, often created without institutional support but grounded in truth and collaboration, has value beyond our borders.
It also highlights the power and importance of cultural exchange. This honour belongs not just to me, but to the wider theatre community in Pakistan that continues to use performance to build understanding, ask difficult questions, and inspire change.
You are currently a Global ISPA Fellow for 2025 and will be speaking at June’s Lugano Congress. How has this international network shaped your leadership, and what insights have you gained from engaging with artists and cultural leaders from around the world?
Being a Global ISPA Fellow has been an energising and eye-opening experience. It’s offered me the chance to step back from the everyday demands of running a theatre group and reflect on the larger questions of leadership, sustainability, and impact in the arts.
Engaging with artists and cultural leaders from around the world has reminded me that while our contexts differ, many of our struggles, whether around funding, censorship, or access, are shared. What’s been most valuable is the generosity of the network, the willingness to exchange ideas, strategies, challenges, and failures.
It’s also encouraged me to think more structurally about the role of independent arts organisations, about how we can move from project-based survival to long-term vision. ISPA has strengthened my belief in cross-border solidarity and affirmed that Pakistani theatre has much to contribute to global conversations around justice, identity, and cultural resilience.
As the world confronts new challenges like climate change, digital misinformation, and polarisation, where do you see the future of Theatre Wallay—and theatre more broadly—in addressing these global issues?
The performing arts have always created a space for asking urgent questions, and as the world faces existential challenges like climate change, digital misinformation, and polarisation, that role feels more vital than ever. At Theatre Wallay, we see our future in continuing to tell human stories that cut through noise, reconnect people, and encourage dialogue, especially in an age of digital overload and fractured truths.
The performing arts remind us that we are human, with shared fears, dreams, and vulnerabilities. Live performance allows us to sit together, feel togethe,r and recognise ourselves in one another.
Also, the arts can make abstract crises tangible, give voice to the affected, and inspire collective reflection. At Theatre Wallay, we firmly believe that we must play a role in bringing these issues of today’s world into focus, not by offering easy answers, but by creating space for reflection, dialogue, and emotional connection.
But keeping this work alive is a constant struggle. Independent theatre in Pakistan survives more on passion than resources. Sustaining spaces, compensating artists and building lasting structures is not easy. Yet we keep going, because in times of crisis, it is stories, and the empathy they create, that hold communities together.
