Background

The Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW) named after Rafi Peer, Pakistan’s foremost modern dramatist was launched in 1974. It is a non-government organization that promotes the arts, focuses on culture and aims to educate and entertain through its activities. RPTW has the distinction of being the only cultural and event management organization in the country that has conceived and executed sustained annual global and cross-cultural mega-events.

Today the RPTW, comprising Peer Events Management, The Rafi Peer Cultural Centre & Faizaan Peerzada Museum of Puppetry, Peer Films and Peer Artist Management, is known for its groundbreaking festivals including The World Performing Arts Festival, Youth, Film and Folk Festivals as well as the Mystic Music Sufi Festival, the Saanj Amritsar Festival for Peace and the Oslo Mela. Each of these extravaganza’s works promotes the arts in Pakistan and the cultural face of Pakistan to the global community.

Our unique strength lies in our organizational diversity and tremendous global networking capabilities. Over the last four decades, the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop has built up, not only a tremendous in-house infrastructure of technical professionals and equipment but a strong international network that allows us to pool resources and talent with a diverse array of organizations and technical specialists around the world.

Since 1992, RPTW has organized 60 international performing art festivals including eight national folk puppet festivals in Pakistan. Our international events have brought more than 20,000 foreign artists to Pakistan from all over the world and have entertained more than 4.5 million people, firmly establishing Pakistan on the global cultural map. The festivals promote understanding between diverse cultures along with values such as peace, harmony and art as a vehicle of essential human expression.

RPTW has gained useful experience through its international tours over several years. RPTW has toured Europe, the US and Canada, with projects demanding major logistical and management skills.

RPTW has most recently been engaged in creating developmental and educational entertainment and learning content for children and communities. We use the performing arts to create positive messaging and joyful learning for children as well as interactive development programs with communities that use the arts to create awareness and education, especially in rural and marginalized areas.

RPTW has been working in the following capacities over the last 40 years:

• Puppetry
• Television & Film Production
• Developing International Festivals
• Promoting Traditional Local Puppet Groups & Craftsmen
• Training and Educating Youth/Children through Performing Arts
• Developing Awareness at the Grass-root Level through Performing Arts
• Marketing of Productions and Events to Television Networks and Sponsors
  Theatre productions
• Creating Training & Cross-Cultural Programs with International Counterparts
• Creating Educational and Developmental Content and Activities for Children and Communities

The Content Department at RPTW works to provide a sound, research-based direction to the project’s activities so that it promotes universal values while remaining firmly rooted in Pakistan’s unique cultural and social setting. It is involved in various stages of production from start to finish and ensures that all objectives of the project always remain at the forefront of our endeavours.

The Content Development Department specializes in understanding the core goals and objectives of our clients, partners, donors or the particulars of specific projects and translating them into vibrant and engaging original content.

The Content Department creates original material for theatre, film, events, puppetry, cultural festivals and educational and developmental programs. for children and community outreach. And specializes in hands-on interactive engagements that strengthen core values and positive messaging through the arts.

The Programs Department at RPTW is responsible for the creation of each event’s on the ground, communication and pre-event Design and Execution. This is where our entire team of creative and technical experts joins hands and works their magic to transform concepts into complete shows.

The Programs Department specializes in 360 Degree Packaging of each initiative. From multi-platform creatives to the design of communication and outreach agendas and the development of long term goals and sustainability.

The Programs Department produces the event from its inception as a concept through stages such as design, visualization, packaging, promotion, selection and training to the final product executed on the ground or finished in postproduction, ready to be showcased.