Safeer Ullah Khan is our alumnus of an IVLP exchange program under the theme ‘Arts for Social Change’ in Feb-Mar 2013. This exchange program transformed his life completely. Theater, which was just a hobby, has become a profession for him now. IVLP made him learn that theater is a powerful tool to bring a distinct change in people’s feelings and opinions.
He has done innumerable theater-for-social-change projects. He has raised awareness among communities on various social issues including child marriages, domestic violence, religious extremism, and girls’ education. His street plays have been performed more than a thousand times in rural areas of districts Chakwal, Jhelum, Attock, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Lodhran, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Vehari, Peshawar, Muzaffarabad, Bagh, and Bahawalpur and have been watched by over 500,000 people.
His group, Theatre Wallay, has been to the USA twice. In 2015, Safeer’s group ‘Theatre Wallay’, took their play ‘This Stained Dawn’ to the U.S. and held 13 performances there. In 2017, they took another play ‘On Common Ground’ to the U.S. and held 6 performances there. In 2019, Safeer started formal acting classes in Islamabad. His students have impressed many casting directors, who were interested in meeting their teacher. It led to his entry into the mainstream TV and film industry. The journey is still going on. Safeer believes that it would not have been possible without this exchange program and the support he received from the people of U.S.
