How many times have you felt restricted in doing things you desire because they don’t fit a certain social criteria? In a world where conventions tend to overpower identity and individuality, where social disparities are getting stronger each day — arts are possibly one of the only channels through which one can challenge the strictures, disrupt the `norm` and engage in a conversation that fosters growth.
Exploring a similar line of thought in Writing a riot, a talk hosted by city-based organisation Freestyle, in collaboration with Bhasha Centre and Harkat Studios, Botswana-based writer, interdisciplinary producer and researcher, Kat Kai Kol-Kes will join Freestyle founder, Sameera Iyengar, in a conversation that will explore disruptive storytelling and writing.
The session will further strengthen its ideas through a rehearsed reading of two plays, Gnash and Talking Heads, written by Kol-Kes.
Sameera Iyengar and Kat Kai Kol-Kes
“Art can help us understand the world through different portals. It is one of the most powerful ways through which you can bring socio-political conversations to the fore and look at issues from multiple standpoints. She [Kat] is a wonderful multi-genre artist with a very strong understanding of writing. It was the perfect opportunity for us to host her considering the theatre community in the city is also quite strong. Fellow artistes and performers, Oysh and Diya Naidu reached out to me to conduct the session,” Iyengar explains as she tells us about the play readings being helmed by Mumbai-based directors, Rachel D’Souza and Amba-Suhasini K Jhala.
While Talking Heads explores the stereotype of how black and brown women over the age of 40 or maternal caretakers are often thought of as individuals who don’t need to engage in pleasure or sensual pursuits, Gnash talks about the taboo of women being perceived as defenceless or at the receiving end of violence. “The play is open to interpretation to the cast as well as the audience. The idea is to use the stories as the basis to challenge notions of purity, chastity and normativity and embrace disruptive storytelling,” Kol-Kes shares.
“With the engagement, I am trying to provide insights on the work that I have been doing as playwright, and provide greater visibility to the LGBTQiA+ community and people living on the margins,” she adds. In India for the East Goes South Residency, supported by the Miller-Zillmer Foundation, Kol-Kes has toured Kolkata and Bengaluru as part of her project before stepping into the Maximum City.
Iyengar observes, “Nowadays, it is almost as if all of us are living in silos, which is why it is important to have conversations that help us expand the idea of ourselves. It is fortunate that we have an artist from Botswana share her knowledge with us. One also cannot undermine the shared experience of colonialism that India and Africa share despite having different historical trajectories. In that sense, art paves the way for difficult conversations and creates an inclusive environment.”
ON April 19; 11 am to 1 pm
AT Harkat Studios, JP Road, Machlimar, Versova, Andheri West.
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