KATHMANDU: The ongoing staging of the play “Lucifer Rising” at Ek Theater in Thapagaun, Kathmandu, has been abruptly halted following intense pressure and threats.

Despite receiving positive audience feedback, the organizers were forced to cancel the performances after critics and certain factions concluded that the play negatively impacts the image of Prime Minister Balen Shah.

In an emergency notice, the organizers apologized to the audience, citing pressure from “unknown political figures, tendencies, and groups.”

The sudden shutdown has left the theater community alarmed and dissatisfied.

The term “Lucifer” gained political notoriety in Nepal after analyst Saurav used it on a TV talk show to describe Balen Shah, who was then the Kathmandu Mayor and is now the Prime Minister.

Saurav used the moniker while criticizing Shah’s alleged role in the controversial Gen Z protests of September 2025.

Since then, Shah’s opponents have frequently weaponized the name to criticize him, and audiences noted that the play heavily mirrored those 2025 events.

Drawing from the mythical Lucifer—the fallen angel of Christian mythology who rebelled against divine authority out of pride and ambition—the play artfully explores themes of internal human conflict, darkness, power, and demonic tendencies.