Taking V-Monologues to collegians

It’s been a decade since it was first started by Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal and her son Kaizad, and the ride for Poor Box Productions has been quite a roller-coaster. The recent ban on their productions in Surat has not dampened their spirits. “We were earlier banned in Ahmedabad, now Surat. We were taking our play (The Vagina Monologues) there but the police did not grant us permission. They asked for the script to vet it,” says Kaizaad.

But Mahabanoo stands by her decision to refuse them. “We do not give out our scripts to people who are not culturally aware. We have the censor certificates as required by the Maharashtra government.”

“The majority of opposition we face is from sections of the theatre community itself,” reveals Kaizad. “There are so many theatres in Mumbai where we are banned. In fact, there is only one regular English theatre venue where we can perform.”

But his mother chooses to gloss it over. “I just move on. They have small minds. The Vagina Monologues has been performed by the greatest Hollywood actors – Julia Roberts, Judi Dench, Jane Fonda – even Oprah Winfrey. When you can watch them on TV, why can’t you watch their play?”

Walking over fire and ice hasn’t been easy, but Mahabanoo says she made some special friends along the way — like The Vagina Monologues writer Eve Ensler. “She definitely figures pretty high on the list.” Recounting the first time they met in 2002, Mahabanoo says, “We first met in New York, but it took her almost a year to give us the rights to her play. It is a play that can easily be misused.”

Next year she is planning to stage a special play that will have audience participation, especially women who have interesting personal stories to recount. “I’d love to remake The Vagina Monologues with a completely new cast. I would love to do it with college students. The 200th show of the play took a lot of time and money. But we have big plans for next year.”