The neoliberal enterprise of NGOs has transformed the left-leaning politics of the political theatre movement in the Punjab region of Pakistan. Commencing in the 1980s, this theatre acted as a vibrant movement of the Left, challenging the brutal military dictatorship of General Zia. At a later stage, its politics changed to the neoliberal politics of NGOs, giving way to economics and the agenda of international donor organizations of the Global North. This article demonstrates the turn-around of theatre company Ajoka’s recent production Saira aur Miara (2019) and focuses on the production’s politics, together with its text, design, and performance modes in aesthetic terms. A materialist and context-specific political approach examines to what extent class struggle and leftist ideas inform this company’s ideological imaginings and how much it has moved away from its original political position. It indicates the tensions and contradictions that have been created during this change and because of it.

中文翻译：

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非政府组织与巴基斯坦政治舞台的新自由化：阿约卡向权利政治的投降

非政府组织的新自由主义事业改变了巴基斯坦旁遮普地区政治戏剧运动的左倾政治。从 20 世纪 80 年代开始，这个剧院成为一场充满活力的左翼运动，挑战齐亚将军的残酷军事独裁统治。后来，其政治转向非政府组织的新自由主义政治，让位于经济和全球北方国际捐助组织的议程。本文展示了 Ajoka 剧团最近制作的扭亏为盈塞拉·奥尔·米亚拉（2019）并重点关注作品的政治性，以及其文本、设计和美学方面的表现模式。唯物主义和特定背景的政治方法考察了阶级斗争和左翼思想在多大程度上影响了这家公司的意识形态想象，以及它在多大程度上偏离了原来的政治立场。它表明了在这一变化期间以及因此而产生的紧张和矛盾。