Apr 06, 2010 04:01 PM
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(Updated Apr 07, 2010 10:55 AM)
"One is not born but rather becomes woman"
Simone de Beauvoir, Second Sex
It is quite atypical when we experience a product / service and concomitantly you come across the person behind the show! While taking a bow and conveying my adequate sense of admiration through a hand shake I told Ma’m Mahabanoo Kotwal (Co Producer, Director and one of the casts of the drama) “I will share my reflection on this wonderful piece of art with a lot. I am comfortable with words”.
With all the grace, she handed over her mobile number and told me to let her know when ever I come up with this! This is for that wonderful lady who beguiled my artistic sense as a spectator. I might not be able to carry the spark like how she did through this wonderful play but still, I may be able to invite your attention with all vulnerability so that you won’t miss when it is being screened near your home.
History
`Vagina Monologue" is written by Eve Ensler (Who is supposedly sexually abused by her own dad as a kid) in 1996 and was performed in New York in a rather low profile manner. What happened afterward? Let the statistics speak! It is translated close to 45 languages and screened across over 120 countries.
You have celebrities ranging from Susan Sarandon to Glenn Close dying to be the character of this play! It has been criticized as the ranting of feminists but again it is a baseless allegation and the only way to get closer to the message is to shed your inhibition and watch the same!
Breaking the Ice
Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal greeted the audience and she was sounding confident, contended and charming. There was differential payment for the seating but she decided to invite those who paid less and occupied back seat to occupy the front seat as those who can afford did not care for the time factor. Rules are different!
All of us were made to shed our inhibition with the term Vagina and we were asked to shout the same! Why are you worried? After all, it is that organ where you spent your initial 9 months in close proximity!
A brief description of the puritans of the major metro who prohibited the screening as they thought that might disrupt the law and order of the city! What could be the conclusions? That city is not having any Vagina or even if it is there, is should be a**hole? The brief pep talk started entertaining and engaging the audience!
Also, a last request – Mobile phone flash can disturb the cast members and hence it should be switched off. The only instrument to be on is that thing which vibrates continuously! Thanks to the dirty minds who laughed– She meant “Heart”
My experience
Initial ten minutes – I have drawn conclusion that this should be a Bohemian Rhapsody. But as the show advanced, the various facets of womanhood are being brutally exposed with the metaphorical symbol Vagina!
Now, you are watching something new and do not wait for the props you find in a traditional drama. We have only five ladies sitting on a chair with a bunch of papers (might be the dialogue) which they might not glance but give the effect of presenting the raw data in the form of monologue! Sounds boring? Well, I am not exaggerating but I tried my level best not to wink as I do not want to miss the finest form of on stage performance.
When a woman is asked to speak about her vagina , what could be the possible responses? For some, it might be a liberating experience, but there are some who almost forgot that they had one! They claim to talk to 200 women across the globe and presented a few which represent the rest!
Plot
I am not going to present the finer details of the plot which they have performed because that might give a different impression of the play. Those who are guided by strong morals of puritans, might find it a bit odd. But my loyalty is not with puritans but those who got heart and mind to appreciate artifact!
You have the monologue of the lady’s husband who is spooked by her pubic hair, The Old lady who never experienced orgasm, the lady having a good experience with a man because he loved to “only watch”, the woman who was tormented in Bosnian Rape Camp, reclaiming the sanity of vagina by rechristening it as cu*t etc.
A special mention to two monologues,
Little coochie snorcher ; disturbing as it is all about the harrowing sexual abuse during childhood. The original version invoked much controversy as there was a dialogue that mentioned that “If it was rape, it is a good rape” (Contextually relevant as an adolescent girl subject to abuse found the one which left her with fewer traumas). But again, this was modified in the version I have watched.
The lady decided to become the moaner might leave you laugh and roll – I have no words to explain this monologue regarding different kind of moans ranging from mountain top moan, machine gun moan, tortured zen moan and what not? To believe, you need to hear!
Cast
Among the five ladies, I loved the performance of Avantika Akerkar. She had to adjust her dress, change her voice and exhibit myriad emotions sequentially!
Jayanti Bhatia with her wonderful intonation is a perfect choice for wit and screen presence.
Doctor Sonali Sachdev got a limited role but yet she reaches you as voice in the interval.
Dolly Thakore with the elegant diction and subtle nuances will keep you engaged always and last but the not the least, Mahabanoo Kotwal, the captain of the crew with a limited role but yet remained as the lynch pin of the show!
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