Drama of a different kind

The Love Suicides at Amijima

Titled Curtain Call, a virtual theatre event that started in June 2020 allows participants to read plays along with a group. The event is organised by Thought Project, a feminist group that offers training and consultation services to schools, universities and other such entities on issues of gender, sexuality, diversity and inclusion.

"Before the lockdown, for one of our gender sensitisation workshops, I had to read a play with around 30 characters, and I couldn't keep track, so I got two friends to read some of the lines. The process of reading and discussing the play with a group was exhilarating. It was then that we realised that play reading is a community activity and cannot be done in solitude. This was the nascent thought behind Curtain Call, an online community initiative to read plays," says 28-year-old, Aanchal Jain, founder, Thought Project.

Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons

After the relaxation of pandemic-related rules, the play readings continue to take place online. "These readings are also part of a research paper to understand who is participating, what is their engagement with theatre and whether that engagement changes after the reading. We learnt that many participants, especially women, are able to participate online because it saves them an hour before and after for commuting," shares Jain. The participants are from all walks of life and with mixed experiences. While some are active theatre practitioners, others have had a connection with theatre but had to take a break to pursue alternative careers; there are also corporates with no prior experience.

This week, eight participants will read, The Love Suicides at Amijima, a classic Bunraku (puppet theatre) play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon. The play, written in 1720, looks at the outcome of the brothel system by delving into themes of sex work, desire and mental health, specifically from the perspective of the women working at these places. Like most of Chikamatsu's 20-plus love-suicide dramas, it was based on an actual event. In 2003, UNESCO declared Bunraku a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Aanchal Jain

"We usually read plays that aren't very mainstream. So far, we've approached Indian, American and British plays. This is a play I had read a while ago. Sex work and pornography in Japan are very different from that in the West and India. For example, pornography was legalised in Japan, which allows access to legal recourse. In India, since it is illegal, a lot of content is recorded without consent, and victims cannot seek legal help in the case of any grievances. We wanted to look at the differences and draw parallels at the same time. Since this is an old play, we also wanted to compare what the lives of women in this profession and their social location looked like back then versus how it is today, and the use of the word prostitute as opposed to sex workers and how that came about," explains Jain who is a trained gender consultant and applied theatre practitioner.

Every participant is randomly assigned a character. "Each play has primary, secondary, and tertiary characters. We combine secondary characters so that everyone participating has ample opportunity to read and have a fulfilling experience," says Jain. After the reading, participants engage in a robust guided discussion.

On: May 22, 4 pm
Log on to: insider.in
Cost: Rs 300