Adakar Theatre and Cultural Group Presents ‘Wedding Album’

By Tamanna Abdi

After the success of their 2014 major production ‘Kanjoos’, Adakar Theatre and Cultural Group is returning in 2016 with its new production‘Wedding Album’, through which they are exploring the gender roles dynamics in contemporary India. Written by eminent Indian playwright Girish Karnad and directed by Saba Zaidi Abdi, ‘Wedding Album’ explores a pivotal event in the life of every Indian family – the wedding – through the lens of the aspirations of urban, middle-class India.

By subverting a common trope in Indian culture – the impending arranged marriage of a girl to a ‘suitable’ boy (portrayed by Pragya Goswami and Kartik Mohandas respectively) – Karnad showcases the anxieties and long-buried resentments often simmering under the veneer of the family coming together in a display of solidarity and joy.A production which genuinely reflects the realities of modern day India, ‘Wedding Album’ explores the nature of gender roles through the three separate (yet eerily similar) marriages of the family matriarch and her two daughters.

A contemporary play performed in English, ‘Wedding Album’ represents a shift in Adakar’s theatrical focus as it seeks to reflect the concerns of modern day Indians and puts forward the experiences of women across caste, generational and continental divides. Adakar’s founding member and creative director, Saba Zaidi Abdi said on this theme: “The play exposes and challenges the assumption that the marriage to a boy from a good family is the ultimate achievement for a young woman. In traditional Indian society women are often held back from succeeding, and this play asks why some people are okay with that trend continuing. What fascinates me about the play is its characters and their complex relationships which are multi-dimensional, unpredictable and often challenging. I’m so pleased that we have such a talented cast to tell that story.”

“The play shows what the gender roles in India are like, and how women can easily get pressured into the traditions of society.There’s this family history of women (such as the mother and sister) marrying and being suppressed in their own way.  I feel like there’ll always be a layer of traditionalism that will underpin the daughters brought up in India versus the daughters brought up here in Australia,” said Ms Goswami.

Ms Goswami also added on the increased accessibility and appeal of the play to non-Indian audiences, “The three main marriages you see in our play are those of the sister who lives in Australia, and the mother who has to organise her daughter’s wedding without recognition. Both the mother and the sister take the same, parallel road. Of course, the audience gets to see Vidula’s journey towards marriage. The wedding culture is really vibrant and that’s always appealing; it’s not only for Indian audiences – it appeals to the Western perspective as well.”

As one of the most incisive intellectual explorations of the modern Indian experience, ‘Wedding Album’ is a play which is funny, poignant, pushes the boundaries and is a must-see production!

‘Wedding Album’ will be staged at NIDA Theatres, 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington on 1^st May at 6pm.Ticket enquiries can be made at bookings@adakar.com.au. It features , Pragya Goswami, Vedant Tijoriwala, Saba Zaidi Abdi, Amitav Goswami, Aparna Tijoriwala, Preeti Thadani, Bobby Mallick, Smarajit Dey, Mala Mehta, Dixit Thakkar, Saral Somaiya, Nisar Sirguroh, Prashant Mohan Rao, and Kartik Mohandas.