Something like truth: Monologues on life and loss

Four women archer their stories, successful their ain way. The characters, languages, accents, societal and geographical locations differ, but their voices travel from a unified feminine frame. It is not conscionable the aroma of freshly-baked breadstuff that wafts done the narratives, but each brings retired analyzable questions connected the galore sides to a azygous story. These are the sequences from Something Like Truth, directed by Parna Pethe and staged astatine the recently-concluded Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival.

The play, based connected fashionable playwright Shantha Gokhale’s Truth and Justice: Four Monologues, was characterised by compelling question sequences (designed by Maitreyee Joshi) and harmonised unrecorded euphony (directed and performed by Aabha Soumitra, who has besides co-wrote lyrics with Sheetal Sathe). Well-executed performances by Ashwini Giri, Dusha, Kalyanee Mulay and Sharvari Deshpande brought live people’s stories from the 19th Century France, India successful 2002 and Sri Lanka successful 2009.

The play revolves astir the characters of Marie, a cleaning lady, who ends up playing an important relation successful however Captain Alfred Dreyfus is wrongly charged for treason. Dreyfus’ communicative is narrated by his wife, Lucie, who, to punctuation the playwright, Shantha says: “Outlived Alfred Dreyfus by 40 years and ne'er forgave France for what it had done to him.”

Closer home, the communicative of Zameera underlines however a witnesser tin go an accused. While the information remains elusive, a witnesser is held captive.

Haunted by “the ‘Best Bakery’ calamity due to the fact that of the quality communicative astatine its centre,” the playwright chose to delve into what Zaheera Sheikh (primarily a witnesser successful the ‘Best Bakery’ lawsuit and aboriginal jailed for perjury), “was reasoning during her incarceration, astir herself, nine and the law.” The fictional character, Zameera, who narrates Zaheera’s communicative successful the play, says, she “is feeling safe, for the archetypal clip successful her beingness successful jail.”

Sri Lankan journalist, Lasantha Wickrematunge, predicted his ain decease astatine the hands of the authorities helium opposed successful a portion of penning titled ‘And Then They Came For Me’. This writing, posthumously published, becomes a lens, done which the deficiency of property state successful modern India is examined.

It was challenging to equilibrium “simplicity with affectional truth” portion “allowing the words to breathe,” says Parna, talking astir the collaborative process successful which “movement and euphony became integral partners.” Speaking astir the play’s relevance, she says, “in times erstwhile nationalist sermon often reduces analyzable identities to slogans oregon binaries and information feels uncertain, the characters successful this play punctual america of the powerfulness of listening. It invites america to spot truth, not arsenic thing large oregon absolute, but arsenic thing tender, layered and profoundly human.”

The handmade zine, fixed retired with the play tickets (designed collaboratively by Rucha Satoor, Alok Rajwade, and Akshata), aligned good with the acceptable plan by Sampada Gejji. “The zine was conceptualised arsenic an hold of the play, wherever we wanted to springiness a little thought of the incidents successful the play. It includes photos, notes and reflections from those incidents. Printed successful a simple, handmade format, it invites the assemblage to pause, interaction and remember,” Parna says.

Something Like Truth has travelled to multiples locations successful agrarian and municipality India. The responses, according to Parna, person been overwhelming. “It seemed to scope them connected a profoundly idiosyncratic level. Even erstwhile the connection wasn’t afloat understood, the emotions and experiences resonated. “Many women came up to stock their ain stories. That has been the astir moving portion of this journey,” she shares.