Apoorva during a session | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Hyderabad’s cultural scene is opening up to include diverse stories. The city-based Queer Women Collective (QWC) has played a key role in creating platforms for queer artistes to share stories and talk about various topics, including a tadka of humour.
Mehreen at an event | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
QWC began with an online event in May 2020. “Queer women and non-binary people faced a lot of pressure as people went back to their hometowns during Covid. Going back to family was not a good experience for everyone,” recalls Apurva Gupta, founder of QWC, who found very few spaces for queer women to sit and talk.
Focus on storytelling
Audience during a session | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The virtual meet-ups were followed by physical stand-up events and open mics. A little fun and jokes around their experiences lightened their hearts and made them feel a little safer. The stand-up sessions held at the cafe and two editions of the Queer Indie Film and Lit Fest gained momentum over the year. “Stand-up comedy is also a way of storytelling; it makes one feel connected, engaged and yet laugh at it,” says Apurva, who talks about her coming-out, dating experiences and more on stage.
with a touch of humor
It’s been a year since Mehreen, a therapist at a mental health organization called Pause for Perspective, performed as a comedian at their center during Pride month. In a room of queer people and allies, Mehreen’s set also included her experiences as a therapist. “I’m a queer Muslim and a non-binary person; this perspective is effective in looking at oppression with a touch of humor,” she says.
It’s fun to experiment
K Vaishali | Photo credit: special arrangement
K. Vaishali, a technical writer, turns into a stand-up artist in the evenings, “I enjoy performing for the gay community,” says Vaishali, who identifies as cis and lesbian.
Being a Writer – Her Book Homeless: Growing up gay and dyslexic in India recently won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar – it helps her look at life from a different perspective; this perspective as well as her experience as a gamer informs her stand-up material. She may not be a serious comedian, but she goes out of her comfort zone to have fun and experiment.
Apoorva Gupta | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Vaishali doesn’t need any filter when performing for the gay community; she can speak on whatever she thinks. “I don’t have to explain because the audience consists mostly of gays or their allies who understand the gay subculture. I can be as carefree and uninhibited as everyone else.” An example of this is that she imagined the Sherlock Holmes series as a gay love story and joked about how everyone knows a gay woman who looks like the Sherlock Holmes character and how most people also have an ex-boyfriend who behaves like the Sherlock character. “I think a lot of people related to it because I laughed so much, but I could never bring this joke to a straight audience.”
During a session | Photo credit: special arrangement
With over ten performances so far, Mehreen is working to shape the queer comedy scene in the city, as well as a creative response to homophobia within the stand-up community. “It’s sad, but it’s doubly difficult for me or any queer artist to deal with homophobia within the stand-up comedy circuit and from the audience. It’s not like I can’t make the whole crowd laugh.” However, the artist underlines the importance of not making performances just about queer identity. “I am a queer person who has opinions about the world, just like everyone else. These curated spaces for queer artists are also affirming that we have equal lives in the world.”
To improve performance
Mehreen | Photo credit: special arrangement
From watching videos of other standup comedians to reading, these artistes review their acts from time to time to improve. “Even though I am gay and tell gay jokes, people won’t find it funny unless it is written and performed correctly,” says Apurva, who takes feedback from friends and siblings.
Do the cast members face challenges? “My biggest challenge is personal, as I am a neuro-diverse person with dyslexia and dysgraphia,” says Vaishali. She has to drown out the noise around her to focus. (Her trick is to start with a question to grab the audience’s attention, “How many of them are friends with their exes?”) Her neuro-diverse status adds to the challenge of delivering jokes with the same energy.
While queer stand-up shows are held at Trailing Ivy Cafe, WeWork in Kondapur and Cafe Rasaswada (shut now), the team may put up an act depending on the budget. “We speak to the staff before finalising a venue to ensure they are aware of LGBTQIA+ terms, do not misgender and have a positive attitude. This ensures that our audience can also come as they are,” says Apoorva as she finalises an LGBTQ+ friendly space in the city to hold monthly open-mic and stand-up events from July. Mehreen hopes, “People should be as positive with everyone as they are with everyone else.”
