The WOMAN in me...

Taming of the Shrew might be over but my passion for theatre acting can never end…can’t wait for another but is praying for less pressure next time. The last assignment required us to analyze the portrayal of themes or characterizations in either A Streetcar Named Desire or 30 Days of September. I haven’t had any chance to mention about the latter in here and it is also yet to be discussed in class with Dr Edwin. 30 Days of September is a play by Mahesh Dattani in which he tries to bring to audience the reality of child sexual abuse issue. The play reminds me of the movie ‘Seven’ where little boys were sexually assaulted in the juvenile prison they were put in. As a result their behaviour changed and it affected the way they see things after that. The same goes to Mala, the protagonist of 30 DoS. What her uncle did to her when she was little turned her into a sex-driven femme fatale who uses sexuality as the base of her existence. I really do wonder how she exactly feels…Childhood years which supposedly were the period of innocence are robbed away by a man she put her trust in. That must be very depressing. And to accept the fact that the man will always remain a big name in your life must be pretty mortifying. But for me the most interesting character is Shanta. She represents a tortured soul who wanted to escape her past but still seeing it in her own daughter. What’s troubling her is that her daughter channels her frustration into sexual exploitation and not into praying like herself. And the praying itself doesn’t seem to be helping her to get rid of everything. I am quite pissed at Shanta in the scene where Mala seems almost like begging for her mother to acknowledge what had happened to her. But her mother still refused. Living as women surely takes a whole of bigger guts than men. Men can stick it and leave it but the scar that remains on women will shame them forever. And this is me being dramatic. I told you I like acting so much. Who is there to blame? I am a woman.