(Kajal Maharaj)
This was a successful
debut and I look forward to the production fulfilling more of its vision. Well
done! (Review by Shannon Kenny)
A Woman Apart:
starring Kajal Maharaj - written and directed by Naresh Veeran - Seabrooke’s
Theatre @DHS
The multi-hyphenated Naresh Veeran - author-theatre
producer-director-musician - brought his one-woman show, A Woman Apart, to the Seabrooke’s
Theatre stage this weekend.
Kajal Maharaj, in a return to the stage from her work in
film and TV, portrays successful corporate lawyer, Natasha (Tash) Deokaran, who
is married to the ostentatious, solipsistic Dr Suvaan Singh FRCOG (Zahid
Shaik), matching Porsche and all. Tash is at a crossroads.
The director’s note reads: “This production embraces
simplicity - one performer, one moment in time, and a lifetime of choices
unfolding through memory and reflection. By stripping theatre back to its
essentials, and re- presenting it against the backdrop of social media, AI and
virtual technology.”
Maharaj holds the sparsely-set stage and we are introduced
to the people, influences and influencers in her life through a series of text
messages; video calls; voice notes; video reminiscences and social media reels
(real and AI generated), projected up-stage. Tash interacts with the people in
her life through her mobile phone - a portal to the real and the artificial.
And it works!
When the audience is introduced to Tash, she is dressed in
baggy track pants, sweat-shirt and sneakers - a clear break from her corporate
lawyer image and role as trophy-wife to Suvaan. She is waiting for an Uber to
take her to the home of her school-friend and new flame, Advocate Ryan Reddy
(Rahul Brijnath). Uber driver Sazi (Vukani Cele, Esq.) calls to alert her that
he has been delayed because of a march/protest of sorts. The wait provides Tash
the opportunity to reflect on her past and present choices and to take
ownership of the trajectory of her life.
Maharaj makes for a very believable Tash who is grappling
with major life choices, who must discern the authentic and genuinely constructive
advice from the drivel, the trite aphorisms and AI slop that come her way via
well-meaning friends, colleagues and family and the less than sincere
algorithms that power social media feeds.
In his writing, Veeran skilfully weaves in ideas about the
permissible and the ethical, and has Tash consider not only her career choice,
but what it means to be successful, to be content, to be free.
While the play is a one-hander, a significant part of its
structure is Maharaj’s interactions through video calls and text chats with
more than 10 other characters (in pre-recorded inserts) - and the ubiquitous
scroll through social media that has become a pattern of many of our lives.
Maharaj handles the delicate nature of this technically
ambitious work with aplomb. The timing in her live performance opposite the
other characters’ virtual performances is spot-on - and kudos must go also to
the various artists in their video and voice over cameos. Actor-director Darren
King appears as Tash’s steely boss, John Pearce, Illa Thompson as therapist, Dr
Elaine, and Suria Govender as Tash’s mercenary Mum.
No matter her existential crisis, we never get the sense
that Tash is spiralling out of control. Rather, Veeran/Maharaj have Tash firmly
in the driver’s seat experiencing frustration and indecision, yet still
resolute and at times vulnerable. Maharaj is skilled in sensitively navigating
her character’s emotional shifts - and the writing keeps well away from old
tropes about the hysterical woman in crisis.
Through the other characters we are given insight into the
world Tash inhabits and like a clever algorithm, Veeran’s writing and Maharaj’s
performance work to nudge the audience in the direction of team Tash. We root
for her; we get annoyed; we are surprised; we laugh and all the while we want
her to make the right decision “for Tash.” Maharaj’s
performance is engaging, sensitive, subtle.
While certainly a drama, there are some notable comic
vignettes amongst the seriousness: BFF Divya (Shika Budhoo) who keeps it real
and rolling (IYKYK); the Estate Trustees (Daisy Spencer); driver Sazi; Didi the
Stylist (Rudy Cupido); Krystal from Vintage Investments (Kristina Andreas);
Tradesmen Boetie and Lighty (Andries Botha and Robin Moodley respectively) and
the potty-mouthed AI chill guy.
A number of audience members commented on Tash’s
relatability - not because they and their partners had matching Porsches but
because of the kinds of choices Tash is faced with. They felt the story
reflected much of what they, or people they knew - wrestled with: the
opportunities that may or may not have passed them by; questions about identity
and agency; societal expectations and personal responsibility to oneself and
others; and the everyday, ordinary and extraordinary stresses and stressors
that make life variously interesting and exhausting.
The director’s note goes on to say “…we hope to create a
shared space where audiences can listen deeply, laugh honestly, and perhaps
recognise fragments of their own journeys.” Judging from the audience’s
response, I would say that Veeran and Maharaj certainly achieved just that.
Well done to the entire production team, including Ethan
Sicard (Videography, Animation and Final edit - and candidate attorney Mathew),
Zahid Shaik (AI visuals), Ross Hatcher (Theatre Sound and Lighting), Shane
Naidoo (Design and Animation). This was no small feat. I do hope that more
producers are encouraged by Prakash Naidu’s bold step to support new, ambitious
theatre projects (and all theatre projects are ambitious), so that
theatre-makers can do exactly what AI cannot - be live, be present and engage
meaningfully, in person, with a real live audience. This
was a successful debut and I look forward to the production fulfilling more of
its vision. Well done! – Shannon Kenny
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