A still from Avvai
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A Mangai says she only has 15 minutes for a conversation.

The prominent Tamil theatre personality who has written, directed and starred in several plays; authored a book; and been an activist for years now, says that she is pressed for time because she is busy writing the closing speech for Kulavai 2025, a two-day theatre festival on June 8 and 9 in association with Marappachi, her theatre group , and the Alliance Française of Madras.

At the event, one will watch excerpts of productions she has created, besides two full-length plays. They will speak of Sri Lanka, Palestine, feminism, queerness, survival, liberation and the consistent, palpable poignancy through it all. Some plays that will be staged include Avvai, Stree Parvam and Pani Thee.

Over her career spanning 40 years, Mangai has chosen to speak of violence in the realm of caste, class, sexuality and gender. Having collaborated with a remarkable number of people across social structures, the theatre personality jumps from incidents, her origin stories, personalities she has encountered, and progressive philosophies, over call. “My eyes are tearing up every time I think of the journey. It is the small things,” she says with a light shake in her voice, as she speaks of this speech that needs writing. Rapidly though, she gains composure and tells us about why her long-term collaborators pitched this retrospective to celebrate her work.

A Mangai
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Most people who are associated with Mangai, including the likes of her lighting artiste M Surendar, have worked with her for a minimum of 15 years. To him, celebrating Mangai seems obvious. “Nobody has brought in as many women artistes on stage or subverted the Mahabharata or other religious texts with a feminist lens like she has in Tamil. She has shared these interesting stories with audiences,” he says.

Mangai instead, believes that those who have worked with her have found tremendous space for collaboration with other artistes like Therukoothu dancers, academics, film personalities and artists. That is why this retrospective has been created. “I do not see it as a nostalgic gloating celebration. Well, yes, it’s a celebration, but it’s also a reflection of where that generation wants to be today. I’m just a figurehead,” she says.

Mangai entered the world of theatre back in the 1980s through the Chennai Kalai Kuzhu. She aligned with the progressive left and subsequently, the women’s movement. Over the years, she has travelled to several districts in Tamil Nadu, taking feminism to the masses through performance art. “I knew that there was one enemy and I had to fight. But then I think I woke up quite early. By 1992, Voicing Silence (another troupe) was formed,” she says. Here, they fought for 50% representation of women “at least on stage,” she adds.

A still from Avvai
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The journey has hence veered towards ensuring that vulnerable groups find comfortable spaces on stage. Many of the theatre artistes performing on Saturday and Sunday are from the queer community. Learning from the community and consistently creating spaces for the trans community to occupy within the gender spectrum, has been an active effort. “I use the word radical vulnerabilities by Richa Nagar a lot. You know, how when people get together despite all the burdens and pass on empathy or solidarity despite the vulnerabilities,” she says. The stage, she hopes, venerates the same and finds space to accommodate those from the margins.

“There is a deep sense of sadness in just surviving. Through art, we have found ways to talk about it and heal from within. Perhaps, even make it palatable. But now, I do not care about being palatable. I just want to raise as many uncomfortable questions as possible. Nothing else,” she says.

“Oh, we’ve spoken for 22 minutes,” she says, hanging up.

Kulavai is on June 8 and 9 at Alliance Française of Madras, Nungambakkam between 10am and 6.30pm. On June 8, an open-mic event is scheduled. Entry is free.