Rehan Shaurya's monologue delves into the psyche of perpetrators of rape
In February last year, when Rehan Shaurya thought of scripting a play on the confessions of three rapists, he knew it was a tightrope walk. "Here was a man writing a monologue from the perspective of a rapist. There was the danger of being perceived as somebody who is defending the perpetrators," says the co-founder of Dream Stage productions. The idea, he says, was not to justify their actions, but explore where the disregard for the human body comes from and why.
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Actor Akshay Kohli during a rehearsal of the Red Rapist
Titled Rapture: The Confessions, starring Anurag Jha, Deepti Dyondi, Akshay Anand Kohli and Radhika Kadam, it will be performed at Juhu Jagriti on May 4.
The hour-and-a-half performance includes three monologues; the Grey rapist, the Blue rapist and the Red rapist. "The colours are just motifs in the story. For instance in grey rapist, grey holds significance for him because the women who have spurned him were either in a grey outfit or carried a grey bag.
The colour provokes his hatred," says the Kandivli resident. The confession of the grey rapist is about an ordinary man, who doesn’t see his flaws, and is shunned by women so often that he ultimately comes to hate all female kind. "This came from the study of behaviour of men and women in small towns, where men think it’s perfectly normal to stalk women," he says.
Rehan Shaurya
The Blue Rapist looks at what happens when a man is falsely accused of rape. But the story that he has been waiting to tell is of male rape, which forms the crux of the third monologue, the Red Rapist. "In Indian society, we don’t talk about men being abused by other men. In most cases, the victims won’t report the crime due to shame."
Rape, he feels, is more about power, domination and strength than lust. "The intent of the show is to provide an insight into the crime and for us to question the role that society, unknowingly plays in creating monsters."
Where: Juhu Jagriti, Mithibai College Auditorium, Vile Parle (W)
When: May 4, 8 PM
Call: 9920907202
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