Venue: Belvoir St Theatre (Surry Hills NSW), Apr 30 – May 19, 2024
Creators and Directors: Nithya Nagarajan, Liv Satchell
Cast: Vaishnavi Suryaprakash
Images by Brett Boardman
Theatre review
When we meet the heroine of Nayika a Dancing Girl, she is just becoming ready to face the hard truths of her past, and recall the trauma that has pushed her away from her loved ones in India. With the passage of time, and having found a sense of security in her safe harbour of Australia, our unnamed protagonist is now able to confront the hidden parts of herself, that are scarred by having experienced intimate partner violence, when she was but a teenager. In order to survive, there are things that need to be psychologically sequestered, but for a person to truly thrive, their emotions require healing, and those can be attended to, as one becomes stronger over the years.
Created and directed by Nithya Nagarajan and Liv Satchell, Nayika a Dancing Girl tells a story of recovery and triumph, through an amalgamation of western theatrical conventions and the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. The production is visually compelling, with brilliant choreography set against the tranquil elegance, of Keerthi Subramanyam’s scenic and costume design. Morgan Moroney’s dynamically alluring lights further enrich the atmosphere, as do live music by Marco Cher-Gibard and Bhairavi Raman, delivering for the show a luxuriant aural dimension.
Actor Vaishnavi Suryaprakash is the unequivocal main attraction, with unassailable magnetism, steadfast energy and focus, along with a passionate and authentic approach to the material, that keep us absolutely riveted. The play bears a regretfully halting pace, and a structure that communicates with insufficient power, but Suryaprakash is nonetheless captivating, consistent in her ability to persuade us of the gravity of Nayika and its themes.
It is evident that some of our enduring problems will not find resolution, even after repeated attempts for rectification, from within established systems and conventional approaches. The dancing girl in Nayika has had to abandon an entire culture, and seek refuge elsewhere, before she can pick up the pieces, by creating meaning out of a refreshed consolidation of diverse perspectives. The old ways were never going to serve her, in fact they were made to bolster the behaviour of assailants. To find something effective, has meant that she needed different points of reference. To leave, may look like quitting, but it is that courage to stand on one’s own convictions, against persistent pillars of conformism that are patently harmful, that will set a person free.