Actor and director Aparna Gopinath (centre, in white) | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
When Aparna Gopinath and her team of artists started working on their play Stop, look, but go ahead, She says they envisioned taking it to schools and colleges across the country. “Many of us who read the play either knew someone like that or had gone through similar experiences. As a theatre group and a group of actors, we started thinking about what we could do about it,” says the theatre artiste and actor.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning American play How did I learn to drive? Written by Paula Vogel, Stop, look, but move on The play is the story of a young girl who grows up in a complicated and sexually abusive relationship with her uncle. Starring Mrittika, Fawas Ameer Hansa, Pragati Jadhavshankar, Seema, Sanjana Jyothiprakasam and Aarushi Krishnan, the play is being screened for the first time in Chennai this week.
List of artists Wait.Look.But go ahead.
Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“This is a story that doesn’t belong to any particular era. As long as there is a human body, abuse will continue to happen. It’s not like the subject needs advertising—while there is a lot of awareness, it’s still difficult for people to talk about abuse,” says Aparna. She adds that when it involves a family member, the veil of secrecy becomes even thicker.
The play has been adapted for the Indian stage in English with some lines in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam. After the show in Chennai, the play will be staged in Puducherry, Bengaluru, Kerala and other states.
At the end of each show, there will be a discussion led by the therapist about the themes of the play, and the audience will be given space to speak. “The end of the play grips you, and we didn’t want to leave it in a depressing place. It’s important for people to see if they can create space within themselves to listen to their story, or any story, without judgement,” says Aparna.
Wait. Look, But Go Ahead will be staged on June 20-22 and June 26-30 at 7 pm at Kuthu-P-Pattarai, Virugambakkam. Entry is free and on first-come-first-served basis. For more details, contact 6385087557
