The Mirror Merchants' Upcoming Production Brings Four Powerful Stories About Women In One Play...
February 25, 2016 5:45:49 PM IST MTG editorial
''When did being a feminist become a bad thing? Do we get satisfied by writing a status on Facebook if a rape gets noticed by the media? What happens otherwise? Why are we not angry enough?'' asks Mumbai-based director Arnesh Ghose. Having been bothered by similar enquiries for a long time, he decided to write and direct a drama that addresses poignant issues regarding women. The play is titled CHAARPAI.
According to the 26-year-old director, ''Every moment is the right moment to stage a play for such an issue. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, four to five cases of rape occur in the country in an hour. That is a driving force enough to do a play on the topic.'' But Ghose's rendition of the play is not merely a monologue on gender inequality and abuse. He aims to delve into the root causes behind these issues, and find possible solutions.
The play is a collection of four stories dealing with several women-related topics. Khol Do is an adaptation of Saadat Hassan Manto's short story, which portrays the trauma of sexual violence in times of political calamity. Pussy Riot is a commentary on censorship and butchering of the freedom of expression of women writers, poets and artists around the world, and across time - Taslima Nasreen, Kishwar Naheed, Eve Ensler, Ismat Chugtai, Maya Angelou and Sylvia Plath being some of them. Do Boond Roshni Ki discusses masculinity and gender roles through the eyes of a eunuch and a prostitute who fall in love. And lastly, The Idiots is a tongue-in-cheek comedy about escapism, and objectification of women in today's media.
Conceptualising and performing a play orbiting around socially relevant themes is not a first for the Bengali boy. His theatre company, The Mirror Merchants, believes in socially-conscious youth theatre, and he insists that theatre is the only art form that can send across that message. ''Theatre is live, personal and intimate. You are facing actors who bare their souls to you. It has the power to be the most important mouthpiece and tool for social change,'' says Ghose. But that could be preachy, and pat comes the reply, ''No one said message-driven theatre has to be divorced from entertainment.''
Furthermore the play uses soulful music, two out of which are original scores written by Omair Shahid, and performed and composed by Arnesh Ghose.
Moving on, Arnesh aims to venture into films and wants to expand the canvas of the kind of theatre he is doing. He is keen on exploring Indian music and dance and staging a large-scale production like the Broadway/West End kind of musical theatre. ''We can easily write Indian musicals like the way director Roysten Abel has done with THE MANGANIYAR SEDUCTION. I also want to work with Indian folk forms such as Chau and Yakshaganna. The relationship theatre shares with dance and music is exciting.''
The young director also aims to make theatre more accesible and wants to explore new ways of utilising space for theatre. ''Like a travelling band across cities?'', he prompts.
CHAARPAAI will be performed on 26th and 27th February, and on 4th March at 6pm at Sathaye College Auditorium, Ville Parle.
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