Beyond Bollywood and Broadway

Description

The South Asian immigrant experience on stage

This collection of 11 plays, from North America, the U.K., and South Africa—many published here for the first time—delves into the vibrant, cosmopolitan theatre of the South Asian diaspora. These original and provocative works explore the experience of diaspora by drawing on cultural references as diverse as classical Indian texts, adaptations of Shakespeare and Homer, current events, and world music, film, and dance. Neilesh Bose provides historical background on South Asian migration and performance traditions in each region, along with critical introductions and biographical background on each playwright.

Includes works by Anuvab Pal, Aasif Mandvi, Shishir Kurup, Rahul Varma, Rana Bose, Rukhsana Ahmad, Jatinder Verma, Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith, Ronnie Govender, Kessie Govender, and Kriben Pillay.

Acknowledgments

An Introduction to South Asian Diasporic Theatre Neilesh Bose

Part I. The United States
1. Chaos Theory Anuvab Pal
2. Sakina's Restaurant Aasif Mandvi
3. Merchant on Venice Shishir Kurup

Part II. Canada
4. Bhopal Rahul Varma
5. The Death of Abbie Hoffman Rana Bose

Part III. United Kingdom
6. Song for a Sanctuary Rukhsana Ahmad
7. 2001: A Ramayana Odyssey Jatinder Verma
8. Strictly Dandia Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith

Part IV. South Africa
9. The Lahnee's Pleasure Ronnie Govender
10. Working Class Hero Kessie Govender
11. Looking for Muruga Kriben Pillay

List of Plays
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Asian Studies
• Theater
• South Asia
• Theatre
• General officer
• Playwright
• Cinema
• Asian
• General
• Asia
• India
• Performance
• Immigration
• Media

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 26 mars 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253027917
• Langue: English

Extrait

Beyond Bollywood and Broadway
BEYOND BOLLYWOOD AND BROADWAY
Plays from the South Asian Diaspora
Edited by Neilesh Bose
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS Bloomington and Indianapolis
 
 
 
This book is a publication of     Indiana University Press     601 North Morton Street     Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA      http://iupress.indiana.edu
 
Telephone orders      800-842-6796 Fax orders                812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail       [e-mail]
 
© 2009 BY INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS All rights reserved
 
Production rights to the plays must be requested from the individual playwrights or copyright holders.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
 
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
 
Manufactured in the United States of America
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
 
Beyond Bollywood and Broadway : plays from the South Asian diaspora / edited by Neilesh Bose.         p. cm.    Includes bibliographical references.    ISBN 978-0-253-35300-9 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-253-22068-4 (pbk.: alk. paper)  1. Commonwealth drama (English)—South Asian authors. 2. American drama—South Asian American authors. 3. Canadian drama—South Asian authors. 4. English drama—South Asian authors. 5. South African drama (English)—South Asian authors. 6. South Asians—Drama. 7. South Asian diaspora—Drama. I. Bose, Neilesh.  PR9087.B49 2009  822′.9208—dc22 2008043195
 
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To Rajesh
Contents
Acknowledgments
An Introduction to South Asian Diasporic Theatre by Neilesh Bose
PART 1. THE UNITED STATES
Chaos Theory / Anuvab Pal
Sakina’s Restaurant / Aasif Mandvi
Merchant on Venice / Shishir Kurup
PART 2. CANADA
Bhopal / Rahul Varma
The Death of Abbie Hoffman / Rana Bose
PART 3. UNITED KINGDOM
Song for a Sanctuary / Rukhsana Ahmad
2001: A Ramayana Odyssey / Jatinder Verma
Strictly Dandia / Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith
PART 4. SOUTH AFRICA
The Lahnee’s Pleasure / Ronnie Govender
Working Class Hero / Kessie Govender
Looking for Muruga / Kriben Pillay
List of Theatre of the South Asian Diaspora
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank all the playwrights represented in this collection—Ronnie Govender, Kessie Govender, Kriben Pillay, Shishir Kurup, Aasif Mandvi, Anuvab Pal, Jatinder Verma, Sudha Bhuchar and Kristen Landon-Smith, Rukhsana Ahmad, Rahul Varma, and Rana Bose. All have been generous with their time and energy in support of this project. Their imprints on the South Asian diaspora have enriched both the world of theatre as well as the world at large. It is an honor to document and preserve their work in this format. To all other South Asian diasporic playwrights whose work was not preserved in this book, I hope that this work encourages and stimulates future research, publication, and theatrical production.
Many individuals have supported this endeavor over the course of many years. Professor Rajini Srikanth of the University of Massachusetts, Boston, has encouraged and supported this project from the very beginning. Thanks also to Jisha Menon for encouraging me and providing useful feedback from the outset. Conversations with Sunil Swaroop over the years have greatly enriched and enlarged my ideas. Thanks to Professor Aparna Dharwadker for her conversations and insights over the years about this topic. Ayan Gangapadhyaya remains an inspiration, a friend, and a source of intellectual and dramatic sustenance. Kevin Wetmore, rafiki yangu , is a commanding presence of intellect, insight, and humor that has enlarged my approach to this book and my broader perspectives on the study of theatre and performance. Additionally, the influence, though indirect, of the rest of the old Each One Tell One—Javon Johnson, Derrick Sanders, and Mark Clayton Southers—has stayed with me over the years. Likewise, Professor Loren Kruger, whose extraordinary research output and previous guidance has added to my understanding of theatre and performance in ways perhaps not visible from a glance at this book. A special thanks to professor, dada, and friend Sudipto Chatterjee. Others whose influence, support, and inspiration have contributed to the making of this book include Jay Pather, Rajesh Gopie, Logan Shumnugam, Vinay Dharwadker, Charlotte McIvor, and the indefatigable Shishir Kurup. In addition to Shishir, the shape and conception of this book benefited from numerous conversations with Jatinder Verma, Kriben Pillay, Ronnie Govender, and Anuvab Pal.
This work was completed while I was affiliated with Tufts University, the College of St. Rose, and Colorado College. All of these institutions have supported, in various ways, the production of this book. Without this logistical and financial support, this project would not have seen the light of day.
At Indiana University Press, I wish to acknowledge the editorial talents of Rebecca Tolen, who believed in this work from the beginning. Laura McLeod also ably assisted in preparing this book for publication.
A simple thank you will not express the gratitude I feel for how Shahla has given me genuine and unconditional friendship, support, and encouragement.
Without the undying support and love from my father and mother, Somesh and Pompa Bose, none of the present work, and without a doubt, none of me would have been possible. My Rajesh-dada has always been a mentor, friend, and role model. This book is dedicated to him.
Beyond Bollywood and Broadway
An Introduction to South Asian Diasporic Theatre
From Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake to Zadie Smith’s White Teeth to the writings of well-known authors such as Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, and Monica Ali, works by South Asian diasporic (South Asians living outside of South Asia) writers figure prominently in contemporary cultural criticism. Popular films such as Monsoon Wedding, Bend It Like Beckham , and Bride and Prejudice also occupy a familiar place. Still, many people in the United States familiar with the works of these writers would be hard pressed to name a single play by a contemporary playwright of South Asian descent. Theatre rarely enters into discussions of South Asian cultures in the diaspora, although it poses provocative questions. When diaspora is represented onstage, through dramatic literature and performance, what happens? Do we find different questions and different kinds of resolutions? What does the power of performance, that “indescribably mystery,” as South African Kriben Pillay puts it, do to our understanding diaspora?
More questions arise when we set out to determine what makes a play a part of “South Asian diasporic theatre.” Does any play by or about South Asian immigrants qualify? Many plays written by people of South Asian background have nothing to do with the South Asian diaspora. What about the myriad plays written by non-South Asians that have featured South Asian diasporic roles and/or actors in productions? What about all the South Asian traditions of dance, dance-drama, and folk performance being produced around the world? Finally, what about all the South Asian plays that have been performed in diasporic locations, such as the work of Mahesh Dattani, Girish Karnad, or Vijay Tendulkar? This book documents and preserves plays written by and about South Asian diasporic people in order to focus on the creation of a South Asian diasporic dramatic literature, emanating from the South Asian diaspora and accessible to audiences, practitioners, critics, and scholars.
The plays included in this volume reflect a variety of aesthetic, ideological, and practical considerations. Chosen first of all for the aesthetic power they bring to discussions of the South Asian diaspora, each play also examines diasporic concerns in ways that advance an emergent diasporic performance aesthetic. In South Africa and the United States, we see the intersection of class and race in widely different contexts. American Aasif Mandvi’s Sakina’s Restaurant grapples with generations of one family assimilating into America, whereas the life of working-class Indians under apartheid finds dramatic representation in Ronnie Govender’s The Lahnee’s Pleasure . Kessie Govender’s Working Class Hero confronts race but does so by portraying a racist Indian mid-level manager type, so familiar to the South African environment, as well as the politically conscious Indian ready to smash racialism. Kriben Pillay and Anubav Pal both wrestle with intellectual and academic debates in their pieces. Pillay’s Looking for Muruga plays with performance aesthetics and race politics, while Anuvab Pal’s Chaos Theory deal