There is No Rest in The Kingdom . Women are subjected to daily acts of overt and covert discrimination and violence. You would think ‘Kingdom’ means a fictitious place in the 18th Century. Right? Wrong.
This Kingdom is now. Here. Where we live. A world where women continue to fight against everyday sexism. It is this that Deepika Arwind’s latest and arguably her finest piece of work so far, aptly titled No Rest in The Kingdom is about.
It is difficult to refer to it only as a devised ‘performance’, though it was an undoubtedly powerful one. The audience went into howls of laughter as Deepika portrayed characters from street Romeos to jealous boyfriends, girls who love shopping and to dress up and dance, to women professors. Deepika blurred the boundaries between genders by skilfully moving in and out of male and women roles. But even more remarkable in these vignettes, neatly stitched together with the theme of misogyny running through, is that this was a study on gender discrimination. It is impossible to separate the writer in Deepika from the performer.
They come together effortlessly to make for a unique performance style. Watching No Rest in The Kingdom felt like turning the pages of a book, part fiction, part sociology interspersed with dark humour.
To quote a friend, “There are too few intelligent things as it is”, No Rest in the Kingdom comes as a breath fresh air for this reason. It is above all, a scholarly work that shows what theatre is really about: a comment on society through performance.
Deepika avoids clichés, which came out powerfully in her performance. She doesn’t preach. Doesn’t blame or yell. What she does, instead, is to hold a mirror to the audience. Her well-etched characters yet again give a glimpse of her writer’s observation. The eccentricities of people we see everyday are highlighted in hilarious proportions. But for a woman, there are moments you identify deeply with. And heave a sigh of relief that you are not alone. You recognise the subtle misogyny that is contextualised and given perspective. The times when there is abuse under the garb of love or protection.
The cultural policing of women, and so on. Those times when facts and statistics are thrown at you as rational to what is perceived as being emotional. But in all of this, everything is ‘chill machaa’.
Presented by Sandbox Collective and supported by Shoonya - Centre for Art and Somatic Practices, No Rest in he Kingdom will have two more shows on March 4 at Atta Galatta, Koramangala, 7.30 p.m. and on March 5 at Grasshopper, Bannerghatta road, 7 p.m. Tickets on www.bookmyshow.com . Call: 9686865638.
