Domestic frustrations harried housewives and spurned women. Nobel Laureate Dario Fo's feminist yarn-spinning was brought to the stage last weekend for ‘A Woman Alone', the annual fund-raiser for the Association for Non-Traditional Employment for Women (ANEW). Designed and directed by Mithran Devanesen, the evening featured three short stories, essentially monologues, on what being a woman usually entails.
Three stories
It opened with ‘Rise and Shine', where Nikhila Kesavan plays a frazzled housewife (no, not the euphemistic ‘homemaker') in her early morning dash to work. Her daily ritual of searching for the house keys turns into a self-berating, guilt-induced rant on a disappointing marriage, a husband's T-20 fixation, demanding bosses and diaper changes. As she goes over her actions the past evening (still hunting the key), she replays the usual marital arguments that many homes have played host to, ending with his empty promises to change. The performance succeeded in eliciting chuckles from the audience; louder ones from the women. The story however, stays contrived right through, with an expected realization that it's “sweet Sunday” after all. The plot never allows the character to come into her own, and even the good performance couldn't redeem it.
The most disturbing of the three, and rightly so, was ‘Medea' — a rework of the Greek classic. Mahitha Suresh did a fantastically reined-in performance of the feisty woman of yore whose husband deserts her for a younger woman. Her dialogues question women's acceptance of unjust “male laws” and their own helplessness. Fearless of society's backlash, Medea decides to murder her two children to avenge herself. Trying to dissuade her are three female friends, who recreate a Greek chorus here (a story-telling tool that was part of ancient theatre format). Neeta, Anjaly and Punya as the three mostly deliver their lines in unison, trying to reason with a visibly violent Medea — but occasionally sounding like a boisterous girl gang. But Medea explains her decision — “It's better to be remembered as a wild animal than forgotten as a pet nanny goat.”
Finally, Indrani Krishnaiyer took the stage as the housewife in solitary confinement in her own home for ‘A Woman Alone'. Sharon knows she must be grateful for all the trinkets of domestic life, and ignore the fact that she's been locked in her apartment by an abusive husband with a wanton brother-in-law and an ogler in an adjacent house for company. Despite her husband's suspicions, Sharon doesn't come across as quite the cougar; she's more a woman driven crazy by her loneliness with only blaring music to drive it away. Her life unravels as a conversation with her new neighbour, who learns of the suicide attempts behind her cheery façade. The last two stories decidedly have a woman-comrade slant, where both characters take matters into their hands – consequences be damned.
Perfect balance
What cheered me most, however, was not the freedom it expressed, it was the direction. Or the director, rather. Mithran proves that you don't always need a woman to tell a woman's tale well. He keeps the balance right, not letting it sound exasperatingly up-in-arms feminist, but earning your sympathies nonetheless. The evening ended with ANEW honouring its many well-wishers and a story by Mithran on how a good and kind village girl gets the better of a foxy moneylender. Hmm…playing to the feminine soul?
Tanya is a II Year B.Com. student at Stella Maris College.
