Mohammad Waseem from Pakistan on stage at Rabindra Sadan on Friday. Picture by Pabitra Das

From ?out-of-the-world? Chokher Bali, he?s planning to move on to Satayjit Ray?s Pather Panchali. From Amartya Sen?s geographical economics to Badal Sircar?s training, this ?offbeat? theatre-activist from Lahore has been through it all.

So, it?s no surprise that Mohammad Waseem?s first official performance in the city ?of true joy? will be a special one. Waseem ? the key man behind the action at the Interactive Resource Centre (IRC) in Pakistan ? spoke to Metro on Friday afternoon while getting ready for a performance in Rabindra Sadan, slotted for the evening.

IRC, the prime platform for the use of the interactive theatre medium in the human rights struggle movement in Pakistan, is the brainchild of Waseem, an alternative theatre activist since the 1980s.

Organiser of theatre workshops in 87 districts of Pakistan, IRC?s mode of performance is based on the techniques of Brazil?s Augusto Boal, father of interactive theatre. ?Boal is our constant inspiration and I have worked with him in New York, Omaha and other places in the US,? said Waseem, adding: ?We are currently documenting the progress of interactive theatre in Pakistan for Boal?s next book.?

It is this interactive theatre which is the mainstay of IRC?s production agenda in Calcutta this time. For the Pakistan Cultural Night, organised by Pakistan-India People?s Forum for Peace and Democracy, IRC performed an interactive theatre piece based on oppression of workers in the brick kilns of Pakistan.

?The workers in our country are being almost reduced to slaves and there are cases aplenty of people selling their body organs to raise money,? said Waseem. ?While millions are being spent on arms and weapons to protect a country from its neighbours, it is sad that very little kept aside for the betterment of the poor man?s lot.?

IRC performed at Janasanskriti?s forum theatre festival at Curzon Park on Thursday. ?Though our piece was not an interactive one, the audience reaction was a heady feeling,? said Waseem, for whom Calcutta is the Indian city with the ?deepest and most mature cultural and intellectual convictions?.

Having been here earlier during the Book Fair, this fish-and-curry lover is looking forward to renewing old acquaintances, forging new ties and surging ahead with his unique trend of theatre. ?And what better place than Calcutta to do all this?? he asks.