Synopsis:

In a small apartment beneath a mosque in the Bazaar e Husn, home to the pleasure houses of sixteenth century Lahore, lives a most unusual band of Sufis. Known all over the city for their startling red robes and their shaven faces, they are often seen singing and dancing wantonly as they make their way through the streets to a tavern that they frequent. Their master, a former Islamic scholar now frowned upon by the Ulema of Lahore, is Lal Hussain, whose exquisite poems, often sung in soirees by his dearest disciple Maqbool, a low caste lad from Jhang, elicit raucous applause from the patrons of the tavern they congregate at. Into their world strides Madho, a devilishly handsome Brahmin boy from Shahdara, across the Ravi River, who visits the Bazaar e Husn to seek the favors of Amba, the most famous courtesan of Lahore, whose grand pleasure house sits across the street from the tavern. Lal Hussain is smitten the moment he lays eyes on Madho, whose dramatic entry into the lives of the Sufi master and his acolytes unleashes intense jealousy, passionate love, scandalous allegations and ultimately leads to exaltation as Lal Hussain is transformed into Shah Hussain, the king of the Sufis.

Based on the bestselling novel, The Sufi’s Nightingale, Madho is a fictionalized retelling of the life of the sixteenth century Sufi poet Shah Hussain, who is also known as Madho Lal Hussain. Shah Hussain was a malamati—a Sufi who actively debased himself, choosing a lifestyle that would earn him rejection, abuse and criticism from the world, as a means of conquering his ego. Over time, the very identities of Shah Hussain and Madho merged, to the point that today he is remembered as Madho Lal Hussain. The play blends music, dance and poetry; a live musical ensemble will perform original compositions of Shah Hussain’s kafis that are woven into the fabric of the narrative.

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