CHENNAI : The intermittent showers, grey clouds with slight sun rays peeking through, and the overall cool climate that the city has been blessed with is making it difficult to get out of the bed and get through the week. But come Friday, laughter awaits you at The Medai as Chennai is all set to welcome Anu Vaidyanathan, a mother, stand-up comedian, filmmaker, author, and triathlete, for her one-hour show, BC:AD (Before Children, After Diapers).
The show brings a unique perspective on motherhood and how different mothers share different experiences. “Every lived experience is different. Every mom’s experience in life is different, it is not the same. I know my story is unique because my life has been unique and you don’t meet someone every day who has moved through the world the way I have,” says Anu.
On a world tour
The prime theme of the comedy set is about how life changes after having children and revolves around motherhood, parenthood, aspirations of a mother, life before having children and a few snippets from her personal life as she is a mother who also holds other titles after her name.
Performing solo, Anu has been on a world tour for a year now with her stand-up show having also staged it at the Edinburgh Fringe. Acting the set at an international level, and in Chennai last November she says that she is back once again because “the city welcomes me with open arms every time, and I am coming back with an open heart filled with a lot of happiness. I just love being in Chennai.”
She also believes that comedians tour in the same city more than once because they find a room with an audience to play for and every room is different because the audience keeps changing.
A Tamilian herself, Anu feels that Chennai is her home stop. “I am a Tamil woman so obviously I love audiences that understand Tamil because that also helps me experiment with parts of my hour in Tamil. You cannot deliver the same joke everywhere, you obviously have to reconstruct it and also that is one of the ways to get into new rooms,” she shares.
As she is on an ongoing world tour, Anu has realised that playing in regional language helps people relate it to more. For this Friday’s show, you can expect jokes in Tamil that have come from her experiences from living in the city. “I am still playing with the form of the show. I throw in a lot of references from the time I was in Chennai, all the fights with auto drivers, the times from my college,” she explains.
Playing multiple roles
Anu is a relatively new comedian on the scene though she has global appeal. She believes that every night is different, every city is different and the landing of the joke is also different. “It (stand-up comedy) is not something I have done (previously) and I think it puts a unique spin on things and hopefully they (audience) find some relatable material to take away, and say this is how they (woman) do or something alike,” she says. People could come with no expectation or have their mind set in a particular way because the comedian promises an hour of fun and play.
Talking about her Baccate story, Anu says, “Being a mom is my favourite role because there are no two-ways about it. Having a child changed my life. Until then I had not considered writing books or making films or picking up a mic. Being a mom absolutely drives me crazy and brings out the best in me.”
Anu doesn’t conform to the common misconception that having children puts an end to pursuing her dreams.
“When I had my child it was the first time I had this awareness that these artistic endeavours that I had been putting off could absolutely become my front and centre. I wrote a book, started making movies and holding mics. I think I have grown a lot as a person after my children. Before that I didn't think I had that room for doing more things,” she says, adding that children appreciate colour or music much more vividly than an adult does and that realisation has changed the way she views her work.
It took the comedian eight months to write the set. But more than writing, it was performing the set that she found more challenging.
BC:AD is a family-friendly show and Anu notes that it stands out because, “As a comedian you are looking for relatabilty, I make sure that I am able to reach you in the places that are most humanly relatable and I think that human experience is somewhat universal. Name a city, and the places you get to hear laughter are the places where a woman struggles with (similar experiences) or in some way a woman understands what I am talking about.” Her goal is to bring light and laughter to people.
BC:AD will be held at The Medai on July 14 at 8 pm. For tickets, visit: bookmyshow.com