Search for an identity

The play, based on the novel ‘In Search of April Raintree', had its shortcomings, but succeeded in altering the narrative format to convey feelings better.

Identity Crisis: In misery. Photo: K.Pichumani

The suffering of women is a universal constant in highbrow women's writing. Inconvenient histories raked up, unspeakable brutality and the ubiquitous search for self can be as unappetising as they are hugely popular.

Women's Christian College's (WCC) annual production this time was a stage version of Beatrice Culleton Mosionier's acclaimed ‘In Search of April Raintree', where the same subjects are used to describe the protagonist's struggle for identity in a racial context.

Two sisters

Adapted by director Dr. P. Rajani, the play traced the parallel stories of two Métis sisters (mixed natives, the ‘half-breeds' of Canada), April and Cheryl. Abandoned by their alcoholic parents', their childhoods are endless repeats of foster home changes, separation and reunion, insult and deprivation. Though both grow up into equally confused and lost individuals, their reactions are polar opposites. April disowns her native ancestry to go “white”; Cheryl, with all the makings of a fiery revolutionary, returns to the reservations to help improve the Métis community. Unfortunately, both paths trip the girls up. April is still lost with the white world's rejection of a mixed breed while Cheryl, now a prostitute and an alcoholic herself, is victim to the ‘Native Girl Syndrome' she tried so hard to disprove.

Imsuchila Kichu as Cheryl Raintree is natural under the lights. Not only does she look her part, the actor in her is also a shrewd manipulator. The play veers in Cheryl's favour, justifying her reasons more than showing them for the follies they were. Sheryl Thomas as April Raintree was good in parts, with the other parts appearing terribly practised. The cast was convincing but didn't transport its audience to Mosionier's picture of Canada. Worth commending for sheer humour quotient was Esther Shalom Simick as Roger Madison – not only did she make April's new boyfriend cute and lovable, but as the guy stereotype goes, he's also absolutely hit-him-on-his-head brand of dense.

Sets were simple, fluid and unobtrusive. It's obvious that a lot of effort has gone into putting this show up. And if that wasn't apparent from the quality of production, the long list of credits at the end cleared doubts. The story's format was altered in its transition from page to stage. The detached flashback feeling of the novel was replaced with the more immediate present to convey desperation. Led by circumstances, the two sisters drift seemingly without motive in the play, with only their unspoken affection for each other holding them together. Cheryl's suicide brings April's search for identity to a close, helping her reconcile with who she's meant to be. With this show, WCC's taste for cerebral scripts doesn't seem to have waned. Quite intense for a college production, it might still be time before plays like this can draw the right audiences.

Tanya is a III Year B.Com. student at Stella Maris College