New Delhi: A dalit teen being bullied off the playground by dominant caste youth, a girl's struggle with domestic violence and a refugee's religious discrimination are themes dominant in a new theatre production by a group of teenagers.
Titled "Walk," the play is based on lives and stories of 12 cast members, all in their teens, and in which no one plays their own part.
Facilitated by Tasawwur, a city-based collective of artists and educators, the show brings together song, choreography, tableaus and stories to take audience through the world inhabited by young people and the more inclusive world that they dream of.
"The play was born out of a 4 month intensive arts-for-social-change curriculum, in which 12 teenagers come together cutting across barriers of caste, class, gender, religion, and nationality to teach each other about the social issues that affect them," says Aditi Rao, founder of Tasawwur.
The organisation is being supported by the Change Looms With.In Fellowship.
Aged between 14 years to 18 years, the cast who are either enrolled in private or government schools or are open school candidates highlight issues that are of concern for teenagers hailing from various walks of life.
"Many of the young people in the program have talked about gender-based violence, on the streets in the form of sexual harassment, and in the home in the form of domestic violence. Caste has come up as a big issue for some of our teenagers," says Rao.
"Religious discrimination has come up just as much. Drug and alcohol abuse across class and gender is another problem. We've heard our teenagers share concerns of the increasing availability and dependence on substances from a very young age," she says.
Themes of suicide and self harm also find their place in the play.
The production is a mix of images, tableaus, narratives, song, and choreography and the second half of the show highlights the theme of solidarity.
"We have identified the most important turning point in our journey as a diverse group. Towards the end of the show, the actors test out how the stories they are telling might change if the lead characters had someone they could turn to for support," says Muskaan Bose, a student of standard 11 at Bluebells International.
She is a part of Tasawwur and is cast in the play.
"The show ends on a beautiful chorus of young people offering what each person needs in order to feel whole and capable of accomplishing her or his dreams," says Rao
The 30 minute play written and performed by adolescents not only looks at the stories they have lived but also explores how they might re-script the next chapter of these stories, how these stories can begin to change.
"The play is an opportunity for participants to make their learning public and to open conversations with their peers, teachers, and families about the complex issues they grapple with and seek to change," says Rao.
The play is set to be showcased at Studio Safdar in Shadi Khampur here on May 22 and May 23.
