KARACHI: This year’s Women of World (WOW) Festival, held in Karachi this month, had one session that stood out: “Is TikTok Killing Theater?” — a talk by renowned stage director Nida Butt.
In interviews to Arab News, Pakistani stage performers and directors said it was factors like a lack of funding and performance avenues that were harming stage productions, not social media apps like TikTok.
While TikTok has amassed over 18 million users in Pakistan since it went international in 2018, theater has retained an enduring popularity that saw around 50 plays run last year when theaters started opening up again after the pandemic. Theater offers a “communal” experience while TikTok is more “accessible” and provides instant, albeit more solitary, gratification. Both mediums have their own audiences and experiences.
Indeed, the essence of theater still lies in the unique experience it offers in the form of live performances, unlike digital media.
“I don’t think theater can be affected by TikTok because theater is something that is performed on the stage where you have to make the effort to go, sit down and watch it,” Sheema Kermani, a renowned classical stage dancer, told Arab News on Thursday.
“Theater is a serious activity. It is basically a thought-provoking activity. TikTok is just for entertainment. You forget about it, theater stays with you.”
Theater director and acting coach Zeeshan Haider seconded Kermani, saying there was no comparison between the two mediums.
“Technology doesn’t play a role in it [theater]. This makes theater unique among all other mediums, they all are so technology-dependent,” said Haider.
“I have met people who witnessed theater for the first time and want to do it again. We have a huge potential audience for theater, who aren’t necessarily leaving theater and turning to TikTok. Theater goes back to ancient times but its audience keeps getting renewed. Theater is a communal experience while TikTok or any other digital consumption are isolated experiences.”
Reiterating the sense of “community” theater offers, thespian Nida Butt said there was a “certain beauty and emotional connection” in the live performing arts. However, she also argued that TikTok and theater could coexist and be used to promote the other.
“I signed up for TikTok about a year ago. It is an awesome tool, easy to use, and you can become a star in just minutes. Instantly, you can put yourself out to the world and it is your very own one-minute musical. The very nature of these tools will take people away from the traditional art forms,” Butt told Arab News earlier this week.
“The younger generation would opt for these [digital] tools rather than theater. Why would they opt for (theater) when they can get the same number of likes and eyeballs [on TikTok]? TikTok represents the age of digital [media] where instant gratification is quick and easy. You can even turn this medium into monetization.”
She added that the younger generation is not willing to spend the kind of time and effort necessary for theater to thrive. She said it is one of the most difficult art forms.
“You have got one shot, there are no second chances. It is also grueling work.”
Theater actor Fawad Khan added that it is not TikTok that was killing theater but the fact that audience “threshold” had changed.
“There is a trend of doing everything in a rush, there is no time and patience in people today,” Khan told Arab News earlier this week.
“It is not digital media that is killing theater, it is other factors contributing to it. For instance, lack of funds, space, [the] economic situation of artists, etc. Generally, a lack of interest toward arts in our part of the world goes against artistic activities that require time and patience.”
Khan hasn’t signed up on TikTok yet but he said he hasn’t seen anything creative or of artistic value on the digital medium.
“Generally, the TV industry has a trend that the more followers you have [on social media], and the more viral videos on TikTok the artists have, they will cast them. I think that’s unfair but it is not the artists’ fault,” said Khan.
Theater in Pakistan was already in trouble before TikTok arrived, dancer Kermani said.
“It is not funded by anybody. It is a very difficult activity. One has to work for months to create something to make it a memorable experience for the audience,” said Kermani.
“Of course, theater can be digitized too but the recording does not have the same impact as a live interaction with people you can see in front of your eyes. Theater is a very involved experience.”
