The Theatre Times

Ulka Mayur’s Cast Off All Shame re-imagines four female bhakti poets in a modern-day avatar to address problems faced by contemporary women. Women bhakti poets like Janabai, Lal Ded, Soyarabai and Akka Mahadevi were not only the earliest feminists in India but also challenged the patriarchal norms of society through their songs, poems and ways of life. They used poetry as a means to define their own truths and break societal rules and stereotypes. Actor, writer and director Ulka Mayur pays an ode to the spirit of these women through her new solo theatre production Cast Off All Shame that premieres this evening. The play begins with medieval bhakti poet Janabai coming alive and taking on the role of an agony aunt to today’s women who have often been body shamed and slut shamed. What follows is a theatre experience punctuated with soulful bhakti poetry of Akka Mahadevi, Awaiyyar, Lal Ded and Soyarabai and tongue-in-cheek observations. Even as Janabai straddles two epochs alluding to marginalized women, bhakti poets and mainstream viral comments, the show strikes a balance between the literary and entertainment. Mayur, who has written and directed Cast Off All Shame, says, “I got the idea for the play when I was research[ing] bhakti poets earlier this year. I was fascinated by the free spirit of these women. Usually, whenever we think about bhakti poets, the emphasis is usually on the...