Two plays about queer identities in the week ahead

In the coming days, two plays on the lives of queer people across the spectrum, are exploring questions of identity and representation. While one, The Gentlemen’s Club, is a reprise, the other one, Rang Birani Lavani, uses personal experiences of lavanidancers

The changing drag culture

Sheena Khalid, one of the creators of The Gentleman’s Club, first watched a drag king show when she was in London. She had just returned, fresh off the experience. Around the same time, theatre maker and critic, Vikram Phukan had written a drag queen monologue for an event by Gaysi Family—a safe digital space for members of the queer community. Phukan was toying with the idea of turning his monologue into a full-length theatre piece.

He met Khalid and Puja Sarup, both founders of the performance group Patchworks Ensemble, to discuss the piece. One thing led to another, and they were soon discussing the possibility of a drag king show. This is how The Gentleman’s Club, in its first avatar, came to be, opening in 2015 at the National Centre of Performing Arts (NCPA). It was performed around the country until 2022, with their last show in Hyderabad.

The Gentleman’s Club is now back with a reprise with some new actors, and additional dance numbers. It aims to push boundaries further and question what drag truly means. “Drag culture has changed so much since we first performed. We wanted to take some time and think about how these characters had evolved and what they were thinking,” says Khalid.

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The plot remains the same. The story is set in an underground club with its lead performer Rocky, who dances to actor Shammi Kapoor’s racy numbers. His protégé, Alex, is leaving the club to explore what the world outside has in store for him. It is on his last day that events of the play unfold. According to Khalid, The Gentleman’s Club is less plot, and more following the drag kings around on the day. There is also a new sub-plot. The reprise version has been produced by NCPA in collaboration with London’s West End at Soho Theatre.

It is set in an unnamed place and time, which could be in the past or the future, according to Khalid. She imagines it as Mumbai, but the kind we have never experienced. While Rocky’s Shammi Kapoor fandom came out as a casual conversation, it has become all too real for the cast and crew. “The Shammi Kapoor idea came from Vikram Phukan, who looked at Pooja and said you have his eyes. And that’s when she went into research and became a full-on fan. We believe that before every show, we get a sign from him. On the morning of one such, we saw a huge article on him in the papers,” says Khalid.

Introducing a male lavani

In Mumbai’s Vile Parle, a small rehearsal room has come alive with the thumping rhythms of the lavani. Performers Akshay Malvankar and Sopinath Patokar are dancing, switching to dialogue, and looking to interact with the audience. Gauri Jadhav, who is part of the performance is missing on this day. Actor and producer of Rang Birangi Lavani, Gitanjali Kulkarni, is pleased with what she sees.

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Rang Birangi Lavani presents seven nugget-sized queer stories on stage. “We’ve tried to pick different identities across the spectrum. Some of them are drawn from the lives of lavani artists and those around us,” says director Kunal Vijayakar. Co-director, Bhushan Korgaonkar, has penned some of these nuanced stories. A particularly moving one tells the tale of a non-binary person and a date.

Each of the vignettes features a lavani song, or two. Some are traditional ones recorded with new artists, while some others use the same tune to tell a different story. The performance is in Hindi with a smattering of other languages. Lavani artist Akshay Malvankar quit acting over a decade ago and is trying to find her feet back. “I left acting over a decade ago. In a lavani performance, you don’t have dialogues. I am suddenly learning the intricacies of acting. Acting has evolved since the last time I tried it,” says Malvankar.

What sets Rang Birangi Lavani apart from other performances of the same kind, is its introduction of a male lavani. Traditionally, women played women, and men also played women in lavani performances. On rare occasions, men played men but stuck to an effeminate version. Korgaonkar and Vijayakar are here to change the narrative. Sopinath Patokar plays a male lavani star with masculine attributes. He is effortless in this portrayal, but feels that switching between Marathi songs, and Hindi dialogue can be tricky. “Besides lavani is a two-way performance between the artist and the audience,” explains Patokar.

While ‘The Gentleman’s Club’ will be staged on 28 September, 7.30 pm, at the Experimental Theatre, ‘Rang Birangi Lavani’ will be performed on 1 October, 6.30 pm at the Godrej Dance Theatre, NCPA, Mumbai.