Guest Blog: Artistic Director Jatinder Verma Launches Festival I'LL SAY IT AGAIN!

May is the month of Revolutions - International Workers' Day on the 1st and the students' revolution in Paris in 1968 are just some of its markers. The Roman poet Ovid suggests that the month of May is named for the "elders," and that the following month (June) is named for the "juniors", or "young people".

Following Ovid's suggestion, we dedicated last May to marking the centenary of Women's Right to Vote in Britain, bringing together elder and young women artists to commemorate the centenary with their own distinctive voices and imaginations under the banner "I'll Say It Again!".

In answer to the question "Why?", we reply "Why not?". For over four decades Tara has been championing diversity, so it seemed self-evident for us to host a season bringing concerted attention to the variety of work by women artists. There is an Indian story of the origin of theatre, which is worth recounting in this connection.

Apparently, there was a time when the Gods had fallen into bad ways - too much sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. So the King of the Gods asked a minor poet to come up with a new form of knowledge that would delight the eyes and ears of the gods and teach them about a better conduct of life.

The poet went off for the proverbial year and a day to compose the new form of knowledge. At last, it was ready to be unveiled by the poet's children before the assembled gods.

Either because they were children or because it is in the DNA of any performer, halfway through the presentation of this new form of knowledge, the children started lampooning the gods. Inevitably incensed, they stopped the performance and cursed the children - to ply their trade among humans as perpetual outsiders.

It is a sad reflection of our industry that today, so many are considered outsiders - whether because of their gender, their race, their disability, their status as citizens or refugees. During this month of elders and juniors, we at Tara Theatre are proclaiming outsiders as insiders under the cheeky banner "I'll Say It Again!".

From Nyla Levy's acerbic new play Does My Bomb Look Big In This? to Karavan Ensemble's Birth of Death; from Zoe Stein's video installation What Happened at 2:03 to Mandy Winters' story of the iconic Doris Day; from Vena Ramphal's meditative dance performance, The Shape of Stillness, to Kate Smurthwaite's feisty Clit-Stirrer...

From evening conversations with one of the country's best actresses, Sudha Bhuchar, to Trish and Tash urging teenagers at a summer camp to Just Don't Do It; from Scrawny Cat's What You Risk, to ANGELLA'S delicious Kitchen; and from Ultimate Living's Deathbed Skiing to Rosa Torr's critically acclaimed Bump, our May festival of women artists is a feast of provocative imaginations, culminating with the explosive sounds of the violin and cello duo, Fran & Flora in Concert.

May is also the month in India when the grandest of all temple festivals takes place - the Thrissur Pooram in Kerala features a procession of over 30 colourfully decorated elephants and an ensemble of 250 musicians.

While we can't promise elephants or 250 musicians this May, 'I'll Say It Again!" this year promises a similar riot of colourful imaginations and music, as Tara Theatre hosts 21 shows in 30 days, featuring 62 artists.

And so - to begin as we mean to go on - a huge welcome to all the artists, audiences, and those who'll come to review them! Come stand on our earth stage and let the magic begin...

I'll Say It Again! at Tara Theatre 30 April-1 June

Photo credit: Harry Elletson

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