I am neither sanitising nor sensationalising the Delhi gang rape

The process of readying the production,from thought to execution,was long-drawn for the critically acclaimed playwright. Poorna had seen one of my plays,Amajuba,which recounted the horrific atrocities done to South Africans during the apartheid. We began to chat on Facebook and she told me,Women are ready to speak here in India in the wake of her death. Come and make a new work that enables us to do that. The attack on the girl and her subsequent death split some kind of defence I had unconsciously developed, says Farber,42,who is currently in Montreal. The play will feature seven actors one male and six female,some of whom were selected from a workshop in Mumbai in February.

What prompted you to write a play based on the Delhi gang rape?

Like the rest of the world,I was deeply affected by the rape,the victims courageous fight for her life and subsequent death. People have theorised why this one case stood out and became a tipping point for so many. What matters is that it broke the barrier of indifference and an appropriate level of righteous rage suddenly manifested itself on New Delhis streets. The national response to her death in India made it clear that the time for change has come. As a playwright,I am attuned to the tides of what affects us as communities and societies. I believe in what I consider to be

theatres true,original intention to show us ourselves in our raw form in order to be a healthier society.

Will it be challenging to portray the story on stage?

This production has elements of testimonial theatre. With the rape and death of this young girl as the central inciting incident,this is a voyage into the realm of personal testimonies culled from the performers,who have survived various forms of sexual violence. The girls death somehow penetrated deep into the personal realm for countless people. The production weaves the true narratives of its performers around that terrible night,as a way to continue the courage people found in those days after her death.

By offering their personal testimonies,which I shall script as a playwright from the events of each performers life,we come to understand how the unspeakable suffering of that young woman was a night made possible by an entire system that enables perpetrators. This production is a gaze at how we have all allowed sexual violence to continue unabated in our different cultures due to implicit paradigms. I am interested neither in sanitising nor sensationalising this event.

Are you wary of the reactions it

might evoke?

If this production does not inspire strong reactions,then we have not done our job. The only reaction I hope not to inspire is that we have mistaken her death as a single incident or one worthy of our attention because it is in any way different from the countless other incidents of violence that women endure. It is clear that what happened on December 16,2012 was a tipping point. It was because the media,and thus the nation,gave it their full attention. We are ready to embrace whatever reactions this production may inspire,as long as people are still talking about this subject.

Will this play focus solely on this incident

in India?

What happened on that bus happened in India. But I am from South Africa. My native country has been called the rape capital of the world. Indias sexual violence statistics are shameful. But so are Americas and that of many European countries. Acid attacks are on the rise in Italy against women. I have no interest in making a piece that locates sexual violence in India alone and leaves the rest of the global community comfortable and relieved they are not dealing with the same issues. Misogyny,sexual and gender-based violence is not an Indian or a South African crisis. It is a global crisis.

The case of Anene Booysen in a small town in South Africa broke around the time of the Delhi victims rape and death. She was a teenager. Gang raped,every finger and both legs broken and disemboweled,she died hours later in the hospital. The extraordinary thing was that,at the time,I felt a strange envy of India as the streets rose in protest around its victim. But I believe India harbours the possibility for global change on sexual violence precisely because it is severe here,and because I saw the streets rise and say enough is enough. For this reason,this project will be quintessentially Indian.

What did you make of the media coverage of the incident?

There is always a sensationalist aspect to the way sexual violence is covered in the media. The eroticisation of sexual violence causes a deep confusion about the nature of rape and sexual assault. Rape is not an act of sexual desire. It is an act of deepest violence,humiliation and hatred. Euphemisms like eve teasing as opposed to harassment are deeply problematic. Teasing is something children do in a school yard. Harassment is a frightening and vicious form of intimidation. The media defines the terms that enters public discourse. With this case,there was,however,an unavoidable shock factor to the brutality that was given the gravitas it deserved. The haunting question was why one of any number of cases each day does not get the same attention. But that is the power of a tipping point.

Your works often focus on womens struggles. Is that a deliberate choice?

I believe theatre to be a potentially powerful agent for social change. At its full potency,theatre can change lives like no other art form. It is the immediacy of the encounter,the ancient ritual of gathering around the fire to consider ourselves through the device of story. I have a strong personal mandate as an artist. Growing up in a society as unjust as South Africa,my focus is often socio-political. This can also be an excuse for lazy theatre that rests on its cause as worthy. My passion lies with most permutations around injustice.

Will this play be touring anywhere else besides the Fringe festival in Edinburgh?

We certainly hope so. Independent theatre travels wherever it is invited. That is the financial reality. We hope that on December 16 2013,we will be in front of an Indian audience who will bear witness to what transpired a year prior and honour that. We hope to tour anywhere that our work resonates. And if we do justice to the subject matter,hopefully,international tours will follow,because I cannot think of a single country that does not need to reflect upon violence towards its women. n