it is a three act play written by Usman Ali, the first renowned Pakistani drama writer.

5.  Born in 1978 in Mandi Bahauddin.
 He did his M.Phil in English Literature from
University of the Punjab.
 His thesis was on Derek Walcott entitled The
Function and Process in Derek Walcott.
 He is currently associated with University of
Gujrat.
 He is also associated with University of
Sargodha Mandi Bahauddin Campus.

6. WORKS….
 “The Speaking Silence” (A English Translation
Book on “Gulzar”)
 An Imagined Interview with Robert Frost
(2011)
 The Guilt
 The Last Metaphor

7. Sheera
In old sixties
Billa
His younger
son twenty
two years old
Gamma
His elder son
thirty-three
years old

8.  A three act play.
 It stars at 3’o clock at night with the description of
the things placed at stage where a table with
typewriter and ashtray placed on the centre left
side and a bicycle is placed on the left side of the
stage and a stove is also placed on the stage.
 Three actors (Sheera, Gamma and Billa) are
sleeping on the stage in such a way their heads are
touching each other and legs are spread in the
opposite direction and at the downside of stage a
female dancer is sleeping, covering his body with
white sheet.

9.  With the sound of drum beating act starts,
where Sheera moves toward the bicycle and
Gamma towards the typewriter.
 Gamma sits on the typewriter and Sheera on
the cushion for searching the nuts of bicycle
whose one wheel is out of axel.
 Gamma on typewriter, punching the keys, with
a cigarette on his mouth, savagely sees the
audience as a victim of wounded hunter by
saying “I am not Mastana. He is killed. Don’t
be foolish”

10.  Then a chitchat starts between Sheera and Gamma
where Gamma says Art is Cruel but Sheera replies
in a disdainful way that its not cruel more than
you. But it only wants Inspiration
 Gamma again lost in typing by adjusting the pages
in typewriter with a loud voice, having a cigarette
in his mouth.
 Sheera went toward the wardrobe and changes his
clothes, audience is seeing him. Gamma inquires
him about show which he replies him that’s its 0n
11’o clock.

11.  Sheera says he has a well knot-plot story but Gamma
refuses his offer by saying that a well plot story
requires “Flesh into stanza, Cut heart into lines” , and
those days are gone where writer had a story. They
were mentors, they were actors, theirs lines held the
public by jugular.
 Gamma adjusts the mew page into the type writer
where Sheera is angry because Gamma doesn't
consider him an actor.
 Sheera describes the fact that now there are only heaps
of dirt in theatre.

12.  Gamma writes a line “Birds buried in trees”
but Sheera make fun of this by saying that this
is a story with punctured heart – hundred of
them are in news bulletin but none is got
published.
 Sheera lamented the fact that there was an
actor but Gamma monks on him which actor
who makes people laugh by vulgar jokes.
 Sheera reminds Gamma that he had promised
him to write a story for him

13.  Gamma offers Sheera a cigarette for smoke but at that
time Billa wakes up and a act between Billa and Sheera
starts.
 Billa becomes angry on Sheera for smoking , he
clenched his neck hand, picks him up and drops him
down into the ground and then smokes. This at ends at
that scene.
 By the sound of drum beating Gamma wakes up and
switches the computer where he opens a file
conversation between Oedipus and Tiresias. He then
adjusts a new page in the type writer by replaying the
script by saying “ You are clever but not wise”

14.  Billa and Gamma enchanted with each other on
the script, then they came close to each other,
staring at each other, but at end they shake
hands with each other by congratulate each
other, and then light goes out.
 A new scene starts by the sound of drum
beating where Billa and Gamma wake up and
start discussing that Sheera has lost his timing
now. At the meantime Sheera wakes up and an
act between Billa and Sheera starts and Gamma
becomes the audience.

15.  Sheera and Billa begin to make fun of each other by
vulgar jokes by saying each other peeled banana, by
slapping each other, by calling each other by saying
donkey, horse, bear – go back to sleep from where
they were woke up.
 Sheera becomes angry because Billa slaps him thrice
but in script there was only one slap.
 Billa and Gamma sits on the sofa where Billa admits
that he is in “guilt” by hurting Sheera.
 Billa then stands in front of the portrait of Hiritk
Roshan that he is his Guru but he hadn’t dance like
him.

16.  Billa rehearsed every night of dancing, learned swimming
because of him, went in Jim because of him, but he hadn't a
biceps like him, at end he was not able to compete him at
any stage. The scene ends with this conversation.
 Then a blue light appears, with the sound of flute, a thin
lean dancer wakes up, takes off the white sheet, folds it
slowly, and puts it down, a light was falling on him from
surrounding. Then the dancer began to dance by positioning
his arms and legs in horizontal and vertical directions and
by taking spins around the floor and sitting in a vulgar
manner for amusing the audience.
 By this way first act comes to its end.

17.  Setting of act two is same as that of act one but now monitor
of computer functions as a television and female dancer is
dressed in white clothes with a black sheet draped over.
 It begins with the visuals of Oscar Ceremony where
Gwyneth Paltrow is receiving for best performance for
movie Shakespeare in Love and crediting many person for
this award, then the applause of clapping is mixed with
cough.
 Sheera who is sleeping on an iron bed wakes up by crash of
slammed door who was dreaming of Oscar and regrets that
his Oscar is no more but at the same time he converts his
attention towards blood on tissue which comes out of his
mouth by coughing.

18.  Sheera notices his tissue filled with blood but he
ignores.
 Gamma sees his face in mirror but Sheera makes fun of
him, then a conversation between Sheera and Gamma
starts on Billa that something happened to Billa. Sheera
has noticed his activities last night, that was out of
sense, when he throw the dancer in public
 Gamma switches the TV and he comes to know about
the news of bomb blast in theatre where 90 are dead, 65
are injured, and 30 are lost.
 Both are stunned by the news of the bomb blast. Sheera
is much upset about theatre.

19.  Sheera is stunned by the news and he begin to recalls
the curtains, theatre, stage, two long pillars, the
balcony, the seats of audience. He puts his hand hands
up and pray for Gamma and Billa.
 Then he changes the topic by the sound of drum
beating that last night show was strange, after their act
no one clapped or laughed at their jokes.
 Gamma is of the view that audience is dead but Sheera
claims that audience was alive, I can feel their senses,
and a contact between the audience and actor was
there.
 Basically is deprived of his laughter, he wants the
laughter of audience on his jokes.

20.  Then Sheera talks about the theatre and his life that he
has to feed three children but he worked on vulgar
theatre to feed his children but people spit on him.
 Then with the sound of drum beating he went to sleep
from where he woke up.
 Then with the sound of flute, the female dancer wakes
up, takes off his black sheet, folds it, and keeps it down
on ground, then with the sound of song she begin to
positions his hands and legs in vertical and horizontal
directions by taking spins around the floor, doing
Cobra moves and also sitting in vulgar manner to
amuse the audience, then by the sound of flowing
water the dance completes.
 By this way second act comes to it end.

21.  The setting of act three is same as that of act one and second,
only a statue, made up of clay with a mask is introduced.
 Billa wakes up and starts to reshape the statue with knife,
hammer, nails and with some wet clay.
 Gamma is typing on the typewriter and he compares typing
with dancing.
 Then Billa starts his act.
 He holds his hands in upward and ensures Gamma that he
is in fight with evil spirits.
 Gamma ensures Billa that these things cant be written and
Billa ensures Gamma that these things cant be danced.

22.  “Stories are not meant for reading, they are meant for
peeling”.
 Their story is also like one. They are sleeping on the
floor with the female dancer. Plot is missing, story is
missing.
 Sheera wakes up by the sound of rain, a newscaster is
casting a news that three hundred Christians are
buried alive due committing Blasphemy by a ten years
old boy.
 Then a conversation between these three Sheera,
Gamma and Billa starts.

23.  They say that “They are setting fire to homes, they are
spitting on them, they are mutilating them, they are
tearing up their bodies, they are playing with the
bodies, they are throwing bodies into the filthy canal,
tearing them apart,.. What a virtue ??? They just raised
slogan. What a nation?? “ and Billa falls on ground and
act between Gamma and Billa starts.
 With the sound of drum beating both Billa and
Gamma went to sleep and with the sound of drum
beating the both wake up and act between them begin.
 Now Gamma is in Billa’s position and Billa is in
Gamma’s position.

24.  Gamma asks Billa to do him a last favor by writing his
story but he says he don’t know how to write. But in
response to it Gamma says you don’t need to know
typing for writing a story.
 Now Gamma speaks and Billa is typing but he is still
suffering from writer’s block. Then they all went to
sleep.
 By the sound of drum beating, Sheera wakes up and by
the sound of rain Gamma wakes up and an act
between Gamma and Sheera begin.
 Sheera picks up some book from the table.

25.  These books are of Mirza Sahiba, Heer Ranjha, Sohni
Mahiwal, and then throws them back on the table but
Gamma is irritated by this act of Sheera but he ignores
him.
 Gamma types a word “Ranjha” , that he fall in love
with Qaida and the story of Heer Ranjha starts between
Sheera and Gamma, but by this way a scuffle between
Sheera and Gamma begins.
 Then they both went to sleep and Sheera wakes up by
the sound of drum beating and does his scissor act.
 He cuts of his clothes and put them on fire to amuse
the audience.

26.  Then by blue light and with the sound of flute,
the female dancer wakes up, takes off his sheet,
folds it, and place it on the ground, then with
the sound of song she begins to position his
hands and legs in vertical and horizontal
position, by taking spins around the floor, by
doing cobra moves on stage, also sitting in
vulgar manners to show his body to amuse the
audience.
 And by this way the act three completes,

27.  At the end of the act Sheera conveys a message to
audience that “Art is cruel. It feeds on the misery of
others, Shines on the erases graves, Weaves its images
through the veins, Of the torn flesh, slices the flesh into
stanza, Cuts the heart into lines, peel the skin into
meter, yes, Art is cruel. It is barren, An empty barrel, a
hovering vulture, A cat liking his nails after a mouse-
hunt, a crow snatching the bits. Of meat from others,
no, yes. Art is cruel. It is quiet, not silent. Its grinding
stomach searches grain, Finds itself empty. It absorbs
saliva, Eats the liver, and gathers the scattered fingers.
Of the hands. What?
 Yes Art is cruel”

28.  This drama possesses the acute power of observation
and a compassionate understanding of human beings,
of their sufferings and dignity…In these trouble time
something useful is being said to audience.
 Written on the changes occurring in theatre and in the
approach in our society.
 Mastana is basically used as a Metaphor to represents
the conscious class of society.
 In this drama basically those things are described,
which has changed our theater and the dignity and
respect of an theatre actor.

29.  In theatre, the acts basically begin when a female
dancer enters in the theatre, a roar of laughter comes
from audience ,and she turns towards the audience to
speak through her absence body movements, and it is
the most important Metaphor to society, which has
created it.
 The stage, living so long under the heel of dancer.
 In the era of religious terrorism, and social disorder,
only theater is providing entertainment to people by
the act of vulgarity and obscenity.
 In old times the actors were the real description of the
word “Actor”.

30.  But now a days actors are just heaps of dirt. Their acts
are just like the heaps of garbage in the new bottles.
 In previous times , they were not just actors, they were
mentors, they have a story and at the end of the drama
they have lesson, a moral lesson for the audience but
now a days the situation is totally vice versa.
 Now a days the actors have no timing, their stories are
just heaps of dirt. The writers are also suffering from
writer’s block. They are just wasting their time.
 Greek has also influence our drama culture.

31.  Now a days, due to lack opf guidance, new actors lost
their timing and due to this their value became less in
society.
 The value of theatre is also miss-interpreted by the use
of vulgar jokes.
 An actor is just deprived of one word from audience
that is “Well Done or Good Work”.
 Now actors are performing their duty but the audience
want some entertainment in theatres in the name of
vulgar jokes, female dances but in old times there was
an honest audience, there was vulgar honesty in
laughter of people than hypocrisy of actors.

32.  In old times stories are meant for some moral lessons but
now a days just for reading and for taking pleasures only.
 Theatre is abused by the involvement of vulgarity in both
jokes,. Performances and in dances.
 The language use in the theatre is very pathetic. This
distrust in language is shown by the quest for another
idiom, connected with the grammar and movement of body.
 In this drama Sheera, Gamma and Billa can be interpreted as
suppressed voices of the stage and the entire drama can be
perceived as if the stage were conjuring up it5s own story
and telling it to the audience.