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Zoo Southside – Studio
An uplifting celebration of the artist’s cultural identity leaves a bitter colonialist aftertaste.Summary
Rating
Good
Vibhinna Ramdev is a dancer and actor based in Bangalore, India. Her privileged upbringing means that she was enrolled in a Catholic school (same as her mother) and became fluent in English rather than any other local language. Growing up, this was never an issue, as all her friends and family always spoke English amongst themselves. The sad realisation that English just wasn’t enough only came when she tried to get jobs in the film industry, where the demand is almost exclusively for cast with a fluency in Indian languages.
Why English? is Vibhinna’s quest for her own identity, within a densely populated country where the languages spoken by an individual often carry an indication of their social extraction. Using a mix of engaging storytelling and dynamic contemporary dance, this is a delightful celebration of her cultural background with all its peculiarities. Thriving under the spotlight, her uplifting performance puts in contrast pride for the traits that define her, with some regret for her country’s colonial past.
To draw conclusions as to why she speaks and behaves like a British person whilst feeling entirely Indian, she finds the prime source in Thomas Babington Macaulay’s Memorandum on Indian Education. In 1835, this expressed the need to produce “a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect”, intrinsically aimed at wiping out the country’s rich cultural composition. Regrettably, Vibhinna is a success story for that barbarous policy.
There’s still some space for improvement in a show that is already very solid. External directorial guidance could help tying the loose ends in the transition between scenes, reducing the amount of fiddling with garments or walking to the back of the stage. These can cause some distraction but don’t detract excessively from a meaningful product in terms of both delivery and content.
Why English? is at least one of three titles at this year’s Fringe exploring the underlying challenges of multiculturalism – together with Siapa Yang Bawa Melayu Aku Pergi? (Who Took My Malay Away) and A Migrant’s Son. It’s about time that more theatre-makers took to the stage with their family history of migration, colonialist hangovers or belonging to ethnic minorities, and demand for their voice to be heard.
Written, Directed, Choreographed and Produced by: Vibhinna Ramdev
Why English? plays at EdFringe 2023 until 19 August, 5:50pm at ZOO Southside. Further information and bookings here.
