Had heard a lot about Vag*na Monologues and acually missed a few chances to see it because I wasnt sure if I really wanted to see something like it. But curiosity was there. So when I came to know that it is being performed at Raghuleela Mall Vashi, I seriously considered it. First I went through the whole script by Eva Ensler which is available on the net and found it really interesting. Hence decided to watch it live.
We(I and my wife) went for the english version. It was a full house and people were really curious as to what happens next. Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal came on stage and even before the show started we were doubling with laughter with her witty comments and intro. Particularly her reference to Chennai(where the show was not allowed) was hillarious.
Then we had Mahabanoo, Dolly Thacore, Avantika Achrekar and Jayati Bhatia on stage in bright red dresses looking elegant and they meant business.
A lot has already been written in other reviews regarding the monologues so I wont really go through all of it. But it was a totally different approach. At no point of time we felt uncomfortable, even though they made you say vag*na in a loud voice. The short skirt, pubic hair, orgasm, moaning all were covered beautifully with a matter of fact approach. Problems faced by women all over the world including India were referred to and really made the audience think.
You cant really call it a play or theatre as it is a collection of monologues. But all you adult guys and gals there. you are missing something if you have not seen it.
I met Mahabanoo, the elegant lady after the show and she told me that the Indian version of the show is considered one of the best in the world. I have reason to believe her totally. In fact she requested us to see the hindi version also as a lot of effort has gone into it. And she reaffirmed that there is absolutely no vulgarity in it. I’d love to see the hindi version sometime.
The performance of all the participants was astounding. They simply seemed to believe in what they were saying. The standing ovation at the end was well deserved.
Hats off to Mahabanoo for bringing it to us.