The Roman philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca famously remarked that ‘All art is but imitation of nature’. While there can be several interpretations of that statement, it can also mean that art is a mirror or reflection of the world and its myriad experiences. The performing arts have always responded to the world at large and in doing so, they often challenge societal norms, give a voice to the voiceless, provoke reactions and spark off much-needed conversations. Playwrights such as Tripurari Sharma, Mahesh Dattani, Vijay Tendulkar and Manjula Padmanabhan have often written plays that have raised questions about gender identity, inclusivity and politics – ideas that have become more relevant today than ever before.
The second edition of the month-long Manam Theatre Festival 2024, in Hyderabad presented by The We_Us Collective (an Almond House Foundation initiative), hopes to do just that with its theme of ‘Together, we belong’. With inclusivity at its heart, many of its plays are directed towards challenging gender narratives and questioning norms laid down by society.
Whether it is Project Darling by Nirdigantha’s Sharanya Ramprakash, which explores women’s roles in theatre, culture, and tradition, tracing the legacy of the iconic Kannada character Khanavali Chenni to The Gentlemen’s Club, performed by Patchworks Ensemble and directed by Sheena Khalid and Puja Sarup which explores drag king culture, or Adishakti Theatre’s Urmila which is a deeply reflective narrative on autonomy and gender dynamics within the Ramayana, several plays at the annual theatre festival aim to - if not bring about a change in society – leave the audience something to think about.
Says Harika Vedula, Founder-Director, Manam Theatre Festival and Founder, The We_Us Collective, “Theatre is a space where there is a live exchange of energy between the audience and the artist. With the theatre festival this time, we wanted to take it into a certain direction unlike the first year where we presented a buffet of stories to the audience. We wanted to delve into things which are relevant to us now. We want people to talk about issues and ideas which they are not talking about enough. A lot of the work is interactive and therefore, a great place to start off conversations.”
It was conversations again - rather a series of interviews called Company of Nayakis - which director Sharanya Ramprakash did with female company theatre actors from Karnataka, that led to the creation of Project Darling. The Kannada play traces the journey of a group of performers who set out on a search for their ancestry - women performers on whose shoulders their work stands. In their search, they hear about the legend of Khanavali Chenni, an iconic character who ruled Kannada theatre with her double-meaning dialogues and sexual innuendo. While trying to find her, they meet several other actresses who have their own stories to share. Project Darling is an incisive examination of female sexuality at the crossroads of censorship and culture.
“It is an extremely contemporary play where we are looking at history and asking, ‘What does this mean now? How have things changed? Were the women in the 60s more liberated than I am in 2024?’ These are the larger questions which anyone living today can relate to,” says Ramprakash. Stories such as these, unfortunately, says the director, get pigeonholed into women stories, but as she says, “Feminist work is for everyone. The lives of women incorporate the lives of men and the reflection that it holds is so universal.”
A play such as Adishakti Theatre’s Urmila exemplifies this notion. Set in Ayodhya, it focusses on the life of Urmila, Lakshmana’s wife, whose life is dramatically altered when her husband leaves her for 14 years with the command, ‘sleep, my sleep’. Questions about autonomy, consent, and the price individuals, especially women, have paid for their obedience throughout time, come into play.
Puja Sarup and Sheena Khalid of Patchworks Ensemble, the makers of plays The Gentleman’s Club and Shikaar – both of which will be showcased at the theatre festival – are unanimous in their opinion that one play or one work cannot change the way everyone thinks. “We are not consciously trying to make a commentary on gender narratives. We are just responding to things around us, and the way we see the world via the stories we want to tell,” says Khalid. While The Gentlemen’s Club invites the audiences to enter Mumbai's pulsating underground club scene and follow the exhilarating lives of the city’s drag kings, Shikaar, with its chudails in a contemporary setting, is a take on patriarchy as well as carries the theme of instigation and provocation. “With The Gentleman’s Club, I have been able to have so many conversations with my older relatives about gender and sexuality. They have not seen the concept (of drag kings) and we cannot be condescending about it. It is not about converting them, but to keep the dialogue going. We have no illusions that we are doing some pathbreaking work to transform lives. Both shows speak of inclusivity and we are just happy to start conversations,” says Sarup.
The last word belongs to Ramprakash who believes that the world has changed and evolved into making space for these kinds of conversations. But they need to continue. “It is important that theatre festivals champion these kinds of works and conversations. I’m grateful for people who see these works and believe that they must be seen and heard,” she signs off.
Manam Theatre Festival 2024 is taking place in Hyderabad from November 15 to December 15.