Pyaasa
Written and performed by Anusree Roy
Directed by Thomas Morgan Jones
Runs until November 15 @ Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace
By Matt McGeachy
Pyaasa means thirsty, and it is clear that author and performer Anusree Roy has a powerful thirst, not only for high quality and engaging theatre, but also for justice, fairness and human decency.
Pyaasa is set in Calcutta, India, and explores the inhumanity of the caste system, a stratified, ancient hereditary social system. Though the caste system is illegal and equality is part of the Indian constitution, it is still practiced de facto, to appalling consequence. At the top are the Brahmins, the teachers and priests; followed by the Kshatriyas, the kings and warriors; the Vaishyas, merchants; and the Shudras, artisans and farmers. Outside this system altogether are the untouchables. The play centres on Chaya, the untouchable daughter of two toilet cleaners, who dreams of going to school to learn her multiplication tables.
Chaya’s mother works as a toilet cleaner for the head servant of a rich man’s household. Weary that her daughter is eleven and will soon be receiving marriage proposals, she asks her employer to help Chaya find work in a tea stall washing cups. She returns to their leaky tent to inform Chaya that she will begin the very next day, and that although she will not be paid, she will be the first among her friends to “be having the tea” — much superior to learning arithmetic. Though initially resistant to the idea, Chaya consents.
Initially it seems as though all is going well for Chaya, who does indeed get to try tea for the first time, and is regularly given tea biscuits as a reward for her work. A disturbing course of events ensues, however, that leaves Chaya robbed of her innocence and her mother unemployed.
Roy, who played all parts in this production, convincingly embodies both the tired old woman and the energetic, precocious eleven-year-old, frequently making seamless transitions between the two characters’ physical and vocal personas. As the world-weary mother, she exudes a resigned dignity, even after being spat upon in line at the communal water pump. Chaya’s earnestness makes the loss of her innocence even more heartwrenching.
Driven entirely by Roy’s stellar performance and creative lighting, designed by David DeGrow, Roy and director Thomas Morgan Jones have created a beautiful and nuanced show that gently mines a sensitive part of a foreign culture. The humanity that oozes out of the writing and performance makes this production part of the Toronto theatre season you won’t want to miss.
