Indian Australian Association Of Sa Inc. Star Theatres, Hilton. 8 June 2016
The success of a theatrical production relies on the source material – in this instance the play script – and its actual execution on the stage. In the case of the Indian Australian Association of SA’s production of Carol Dance’s Indian Embrace, the text is fine, good in parts, but its execution is problematic. The key issue is that the performance lacks pace, but if you put that aside, the show has lots to offer.
In essence Indian Embrace is about family and the connections that hold (or try to hold) families together. It is about two families – one Australian, and one Indian – whose paths cross in the sacred city of Varanasi on the mighty River Ganges. It is about the collision of different cultures and the common ground that binds them together into the family of humankind.
Three Australian siblings arrange to meet up in Varanasi for a family reunion of sorts. Chris, the youngest, opines that their family died with the passing of their mother, who was the family ‘glue’. His sister, Pamela, who is a successful business woman, reflects on the clinical nature of their mother’s funeral and comments that she longed to actually touch her mother’s lifeless body as a final intimate gesture. (This contrasts wonderfully with what actually happens in Varanasi, where Hindu families personally and lovingly cremate the bodies of deceased loved ones on the banks of the Ganges. They are intimately involved in the funerary process, unlike what happens in western societies.) Their oldest brother, John, is aloof and detached from Pamela and Chris, and when he does connect it usually ends in argument.
The dysfunctional siblings stay in a guesthouse that is run by the wise Vikram and Roopa, his daughter-in-law, who longs to live in Australia; a great concern to Vikram. John has often stayed in the guesthouse before when on work assignments with an international aid agency. John understands the stark contrasts that pervade India and the need to not make judgements based on western standards and styles of thinking. On this point he regularly knocks heads with Chris and Pamela.
So the stage is set to explore sibling rivalries, contrasting cultures, moralities, social responsibility, and spirituality. Carol Dance adds much humor into the exploration of these themes, but there is pathos as well.
Shubhraj gives the role of Vikram the right amount of calmness and wisdom, although his delivery is ponderous at times. Saloni Gadhia makes her acting debut in the role of Roopa, and provides an endearing and humorous foil for Vikram. The old India and the new, as it were. Kyla Booth plays Pamela with sufficient superiority, and Nick Bennett curiously gives John a Noel Coward air. Aaron Broomhall gives a fine soliloquy towards the end of the play and probably fares the best of all the cast, which is rounded out with Veer Kulkarni giving a caricature performance in the role of conman Sanjay, and Rahul Gadhia briefly appearing as Roopa’s husband.
Director Peter Ryan chose a simple set that provided for multiple locations with the assistance of rear projections. The lighting was basic, but that was all it needed. Ryan didn’t always move his cast efficiently around the stage and there were significant masking problems at times, which were probably compounded by the limited stage size and the need to move the action as far away from the projected images as possible to avoid them being washed out by the stage lights. Those limitations aside, he should have insisted on greater pace from the entire cast.
The opening night audience appreciated the humor, and enjoyed the thought provoking moments even more.
Kym Clayton
When: 8 to 11 Jun
Where: Star Theatres
Bookings: trybooking.com
