BENGALURU : There’s a lot Anita Mithra is excited about these days. The 56-year-old city-based theatre practitioner, along with eight other actors from Theatre for Change, will be representing the country in the Kenyan International Theatre Festival. Festival director Kevin Kimani Kahuro, who invited the citybased theatre group last year as well, says, “They have an amazing way of telling their stories. And even though they share the stories of individuals, they share their culture along with it as well. And that’s what this festival is about - besides being a platform for Kenyan theatre artistes to showcase their work, it’s also a place where international acts and cultures can come together.”
For the fifth edition, the virtual festival will be held over a period of five days, beginning on Nov. 10. It will see representation from five continents, with participation from countries like the USA, Colombia, India, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Ghana, Egypt and Uganda. Like last year, this year too, Theatre for Change will perform a play that has been inspired by the African American playwright Ntozake Shange’s choreopoems.
“But we have adapted it to an Indian context and the performance consists of a set of multilingual monologues narrated by women across age,” explains Sujatha Balakrishnan, founder, Theatre for Change. These monologues deal with various issues like body shaming, child sexual abuse and challenges faced in relationships. “We were inspired by Shange because these are shared experiences faced by women across the world,” adds Balakrishnan, who is also considering collaborating with some theatre students of Kenyatta University in Nairobi for the performance.
Mithra, whose monologue is on reinvention and the curveballs life throws at one, is hoping her piece will touch some minds and hearts. “My piece is a narration on a singular event in my life that was challenging and yet life affirming. I am hoping it provides resonance with women my age and food for thought for the younger ones,” she says.
Besides Mithra, other actors who are participating from the group include: Parvati Ramchandran, Mimansa Ojha, Vandana Dugar, Vasanti Sundaram, Pooja Pandey Tripathi, Urvashi Goverdhan and Shatarupa Bhattacharyya. Besides the pre-recorded performance, there will also be a live Q&A session. This, Balakrishnan hopes, will spark a conversation around women’s issues that are both culturally specific as well as shared by women in India, Kenya and other African countries.
Though performed primarily in English, they will have some segments in regional Indian languages, which will also be conveyed through subtitles to the international audience. Adds Balakrishnan, “These are compelling personal stories shared with conviction, pride and honesty. They reinforce the importance of every story having a soul that needs to be told, heard and counted. Stories told from a specific perspective are dangerous as they become the dominant narrative.” For details about the festival, visit kitfest.co.ke