Amazing sordid tales

A scene from the play, The Amazing Flabby-Breasted Virgin & Other Sordid Tales

The Indian Textbook of Forensic Medicine uses the term deflorate - a plant that's lost its flowers - to describe a woman who is not "a virgin". Theatre practitioner, playwright and director Ayesha Susan Thomas calls such definitions pseudo facts that are peddled by medical textbooks. Inspired by the writings of gynaecologist Dr Suchitra Dalvi, Thomas responds to the depiction of female bodies in medical literature with her play, The Amazing Flabby-Breasted Virgin & Other Sordid Tales.

Medical textbooks across India define the breasts of a "deflorate" woman as "enlarged and flabby" while breasts of "florate" women are "hemispherical, firm, plump and elastic". This perpetuates the idea of sex being a means of reproduction exclusively, and not pleasure - mostly restricted to women, of course.

Sunayana Premchander and (right) Ayesha Susan Thomas. Pic courtesy/Sakshi Parekh

Thomas' play responds to the purity culture of virginity and notions around women's bodies by visually showing how insane these ideas are. Rife with satire, the play uses verbatim theatre, a form that employs real-life instances and conversations, to make its point. She says, "Language comes with responsibility; it'll be interesting to use verbatim to highlight the way in which language creates and perpetuates these mythologies."

It's a conflicting and dangerous reality for women to navigate and advocate the lived experiences of their own bodies, when medical literature promotes what the Bengaluru-based playwright calls pervasive mythology. "We don't want to tell anybody what to think; we want people to ask questions about the information that's out there, and not just believe it because someone older or someone in authority told them," says the 30-year-old.

Gaurav Singh Nijjer

Breaking away from the Zoom box of shoulders and heads, the play comprises recorded and live performances, a digital portal for games, videos, and more, all structured into the performance time of one hour and 15 minutes. Technical director Gaurav Singh Nijjer explains that the team has crafted an experience that will catch the audience's attention in line with the project's intentions. Thomas hopes the production will grow to include narratives from different intersections to bring in an understanding of advocating for one's own body. "And at each intersection, there is a potential sordid tale waiting to be told," maintains producer Sunayana Premchander.

On: February 4 to 6 and 11 to 13, 11.30 am and 7.30 pm
Log on to: insider.in
Cost: Standard ticket at Rs 100 or pay what you can