MISSISSAUGA MULTILINGUAL FRINGE FESTIVAL
MATURE STORIES PACK A PUNCH
Old hurts and misconceptions have a way of swimming to the surface, however much one attempts to clamp them down. Anubha Jha and Suma Suresh in a scene from Bandh Lifaafe.
A theatre festival – much like a literary festival – is akin to a buffet with many delicious offerings. And at Sawitri Theatre group’s fifth edition of the Mississauga Multilingual Fringe Festival (MMFF) – the first and only multilingual fringe festival in North America – one is spoilt for choice. So I employed the same approach at both. Sample a little of this genre, a taste of a play in another language, a helping of a third to see what develops. And then return for seconds of the ones that speak the most to me.
Here are just two:
Bandh Lifaafe. A woman awaits the arrival of her friend in a room with comfortable chars, a bookshelf filled with familiar titles – I spotted Shashi Tharoor and Abraham Verghese – and of course, books by Gulzar. Tujhse naraaz nahi zindagi is playing in the background.
She selects a copy of a selection of poetry by Gulzar and Sirf ehsaas ki paas ho tum, in his voice, sets the mood as her friend enters, followed quickly by another, unexpected guest.
The audience for Bandh Lifaafe at AN1 Studios, turned into a black box theatre for the occasion, reflected the intimate gathering on stage. Seated close to the three friends, we became party to the confidences that came spilling out after a few glasses of wine.
“It’s not Rekha, it’s her wine talking!” says Anita to Zoya when things threaten to get out of hand.
But old hurts and misconceptions have a way of swimming to the surface, however much one attempts to clamp them down. While one tries to downplay the past, the others have things they have to say to each other. What starts off as a convivial evening of catching up and swapping stories of what they’ve been up to since they last met, old Gulzar songs playing in the background, turns into accusations of betrayal being hurled at one another.
Based on Gulzar’s short story Seema and movies Libaas and Koshish, the characters played by Suma Suresh, Anubha Jha and Gunja Chakraborty, share feelings long buried in unopened envelopes of the heart. They fight, they cry, and laugh. They dance together like old times and promise to meet again for a repeat performance next year.
Except that at the end, the audience discovers that everything was not as it seemed.
In Gaumukhi, Deval Soni’s power-packed performance doesn’t let the momentum drop for a second all through the hour-long play.
Gaumukhi is an existential solo drama tracing a cow’s journey as she grapples with profound questions of existence in a society that has outlawed her purpose.
It was billed as “a reaction to and reflection of the sweeping political winds of our time. She is both an allegory of the violent, exclusionist ideology that has adopted her, and a force struggling to break free from that emblematic identity, and from her shadow.”
It is all that and more. Featuring live Indian classical music, Bhakti sangeet, Sufi songs, and Kabir bhajans – and Utsav Alok and Kabir Agarwal were exceptional – the play uses love and devotion to frame her inner dialogue.
A power-packed performance that doesn’t let the momentum drop for a second all through the hour-long play. Deval Soni is energetic, physical, vulnerable and violent by turn as a creature helpless in the turmoil of the times. The production got a standing ovation from a visibly moved audience.
Kush Shah, the 22-year-old playwright, belies his age with his mature handling of subject matter that can risk offending or provoking and reminded an audience member of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. It could have gone one of several ways. Euphemisms to avoid stating painful truths or melodrama to cover lack of depth or understanding. Shah steers clear of both. Everyone may not agree with the theme or the ideology, but that’s just the point of the play, to encourage dialogue as a way of reaching a place of compassion for those on the margins.
The festival runs until August 24. Check out the offerings. You will find yourself wanting more.
When and where
August 11-24.
Week 1 at AN1 Studios, 2465 Cawthra Rd. Unit 132 Mississauga.
Week 2 at Sampradaya Theatre, 3250 Ridgeway Drive, unit 5, Mississauga. Free parking. Tickets: $15 per person + tax
Tickets
More info at sawitri.ca.