“It is an almost nostalgic feeling”, says
Saish Deshpande of Abhivyaktee – a Goan theatre group, as he recollects a
memory that takes him three years back in time. Two stories that were presented
in their narrative form by Deshpande and team are going to be performed again
but this time in front of a bigger and technically sound audience at Nehru
Centre, Mumbai. Abhivyaktee has been selected to present the dramatised form of
two English stories – ‘Argument’ and ‘Son’ – at the National Theatre Festival
on September 12. To prepare themselves for the big day and to accumulate
feedback that could be then implemented in their performance in Mumbai,
Abhivyaktee is going to present the stories in front of the Goan audience at
Menezes Braganza Hall in Panjim on September 10.
Back in 2012, Abhivyaktee had performed the
dramatised form of the narrative ‘Son’ at Sunaparanta Centre for the Arts on
the occasion of World Goa Day. Saish adds, “We felt that the story of this
woman who suffers the trauma could be one-sided. We needed to balance the issue
and hence presented the story of a woman who chooses to revolt, through
‘Argument’. Both the narratives that were presented at Ravindra Bhavan in
Margao were well received by the audience.” Speaking about the content, Saish
says, “Both the stories are strong with equally strong dramatic elements. Both
present the question as to why abortion happens in our society. We see this
happening but we neither choose to talk about it, nor do we feel guilty about
it. A strong voice needs to be raised against this issue. The message that we
are trying to convey is that women should be respected and protected.”
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Prashanti Talpankar who is going to be
presenting the act, ‘Argument’, says, “This play has originally been written in
Telegu by Chalam and we are presenting the English translation of it. With
regards to my character, she is a young woman who is staying with her father
and works as a housemaid to support herself. She gets into a relationship with
a person and becomes pregnant after which her partner dumps her. Owing to poor
economic reasons, she chooses to abort her child. This issue of abortion is
such that it is a matter of choice for any body. The choice may be because of
various reasons. But somehow the society does not give you that freedom of
choice. At the same time it is so paradoxical that the law is also not in
favour of women on this issue.”
While speaking about the content of the two
acts, Anagha Deshpande who is going to be presenting, ‘Son’, says, “Both the
stories are based on the issue of child abortion. The character that I play, is
a well educated woman belonging to the elite class who also chooses to abort
her child. However, contrary to the woman in ‘Argument’, this lady undergoes severe
mental trauma. The contrast between the two stories is noteworthy and I believe
will help highlight the issue of child abortion in our society.” While the
latter story has been written in its original form in English by Heta Pandit,
both the acts have been designed and directed for the performance in Mumbai by
Vasant Josalkar.
