“In a tight two-hander, Mookerji is a devil-may-care presence seemingly untouched by the piece’s feminist angst but mindful of its repercussions on her own body…. She physically negotiates a curve from prescriptive Bharat Natyam to her own free form style…” —Vikram Phukan, 13 Outstanding Theatrical Performances of 2019, The Hindu
“… we’re taken to the edge of the awkward, the uncomfortable, the not easy-to-digest… something meant to dissent can still entertain, educate and excite—all at the same time.” —Joshua Muyiwa, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore
i am not here is designed as an eight-step guide in how to censor women’s writing, which plays out in a boxing ring.
In parts dark, funny, and brutal, this dance-theatre production looks at the subtle and insidious ways in which women’s writing gets flicked to the fringes. Women sit uncomfortably just out of the history of literature, while their male counterparts are accorded the status of geniuses, rebels and folk heroes.
Two women enter the ring. Watching and being watched, they are often at unease with what they must to do to ‘show’ you this guide. Their bodies constantly transform: they play men, women, and creatures. A frying pan is a metaphor for a chalkboard on they write and dance their way to “freedom”, a traditional dance class reveals the impossible ways in which women’s bodies are written about, an insta-poet reads a review about herself in public…
Abundant with movement and haunting music, the play seeks new form, and heightens and complicates an important relationship in the theatre: the one between the audience and the performers.
Visit facebook.com/iamnotheretheplay for more information
RELATION TO QUIET RIOT
What is the cost of dissent and protest in performance? What is the silence after the protest like? Is it fragmented, is there meaning to be made, a new language to be formed? i am not here is as much about the fight in the boxing ring as it is about the silence in its aftermath. This aftermath embodies the spirit of the female writer who has been negated time and again, but who continues to write—rebelliously, quietly, constantly.
With the support of Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore.
“In a tight two-hander, Mookerji is a devil-may-care presence seemingly untouched by the piece’s feminist angst but mindful of its repercussions on her own body…. She physically negotiates a curve from prescriptive Bharat Natyam to her own free form style…” —Vikram Phukan, 13 Outstanding Theatrical Performances of 2019, The Hindu
“… we’re taken to the edge of the awkward, the uncomfortable, the not easy-to-digest… something meant to dissent can still entertain, educate and excite—all at the same time.” —Joshua Muyiwa, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore
i am not here is an eight-step guide in how to censor women’s writing. It is played out in a boxing ring.
This dance-theatre production is in parts dark, funny, and brutal. It looks at the subtle ways in which women’s writing gets side-lined. Women sit uncomfortably just out of the history of literature. Meanwhile their male counterparts are seen as geniuses, rebels and folk heroes.
Two women enter the ring. Watching and being watched, they are often uneasy with what they must to do to ‘show’ you this guide. Their bodies constantly transform: they play men, women, and creatures. A frying pan is a metaphor for a chalkboard on they write and dance their way to “freedom”. A traditional dance class reveals the impossible ways in which women’s bodies are written about. An insta-poet reads a review about herself in public…
This play is rich with movement and haunting music, and seeks new form. It wants to heighten and complicate the relationship between the audience and the performers.
Visit facebook.com/iamnotheretheplay for more information
RELATION TO QUIET RIOT
What is the cost of dissent and protest in performance? What is the silence after the protest like? Is it fragmented, is there meaning to be made, a new language to be formed? i am not here is as much about the fight in the boxing ring as it is about the silence in its aftermath. This aftermath embodies the spirit of the female writer. She has been negated time and again. Yet she continues to write—rebelliously, quietly, constantly.
With the support of Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore.
