Mango Chutney -- A New Play

[Jamie Skidmore]

Here is the press release for a new show that Nightwood Theatre is
premiering next month:
 
 
NIGHTWOOD THEATRE PRESENTS THE PREMIERE OF
 
MANGO CHUTNEY
 
Toronto, Feb. 1, 1996... NIGHTWOOD THEATRE celebrates its 16th season with
the world premiere of MANGO CHUTNEY, a contemporary comic fantasy by former
Artistic Producer of Cahoots Theatre Projects and first-time playwright
DILARA ALLY, a talented young Torontonian of South Asian descent.
Workshopped at Groundswell `94, MANGO CHUTNEY is a whirlwind tour of the
generation gap, a wry scavenger hunt for treasures of the past guided by
Atmani, a mischievous goddess.  Directed by DIANE ROBERTS and featuring
MONIQUE MOJICA, ELISA MOOLECHERRY, SOHEIL PARSA, SIMMI RAYMOND and VIKRAM
SAHAY, MANGO CHUTNEY previews March 9 & 10, opens March 12 at the Music
Gallery, 179 Richmond St. West and runs to March 30.
 
"Salvation Lies in Creation.  Creation is Life's Work . . . but first -- chaos."
 
A spirited and sometimes irreverent look at the dilemmas facing second
generation Indo-Canadians, MANGO CHUTNEY follows a young woman's search for
balance between the demands of tradition and the freedoms of individual
identity.  Inspired by Kalidasa's "Shakuntala:  The Ring of Recognition" and
The Natyasastra (an ancient source book of classical Indian dance/theatre
forms), MANGO CHUTNEY is a recipe combining ancient ritual with contemporary
naturalism.
 
Taz, rehearsing for the title role in an avant garde production of
Kalidasa's "Shakuntala," is caught off guard by her father's demands that
she accompany him to India, to heal the family rift created by her mother's
recent death.  Angry and confused, Taz inadvertently invites the divine
intervention of the Goddess Atmani; hostess of a hidden world of cast-off
cultural relics and memories.  Atmani takes Taz on a journey through the
past where myth and fact are entangled with ritual and theatre and where
Taz's hopes and dreams come to a raging boil like her mother's homemade
Mango Chutney.
 
"Those who consume mirages can eat to excess but they still hunger for what
is real."
 
MANGO CHUTNEY is a play that is as much about the past as it is about the
present, for it explores and examines the frustations, irony and tensions in
the relationships between second-generation children and their immigrant
parents.  In the hilarious subplot of Taz's two friends, Sen and Zina, we
discover that Sen's parents have taken out a web page on the Internet
bulletin board of marriage proposals.  Desperate to remove his photo and
profile to avoid public humiliation, Sen conspires with Zina to wipe out the
file, thus erasing a page of history.  Paralleling Taz's adventure in a
book, Sen enters the imaginary and paradoxical world of the computer.
 
Bringing together a team of award winning artists, MANGO CHUTNEY draws from
classical Indian theatre and performance forms, with set and costumes
designed by Teresa Przybylski, lighting design by Lesley Wilkinson, original
music by Boko Suzuki, sound design by Evan Turner and featuring vocals by
Shameema Soni and choreography by Lata Pada.
 
Join us for some MANGO CHUTNEY, a world full of mystery and spice, a recipe
for re-generation.  Sponsored by Desh Pardesh, Asian Television Network,
CKLN Radio and India Journal, MANGO CHUTNEY previews March 9 & 10, opens
March 12 and runs to March 30 at the Music Gallery, 179 Richmond St. West,
Tues-Sat at 8 pm, Sun at 2:30 pm.  Tickets $6-16.
 
FOR TICKETS, CALL THE MUSIC GALLERY AT (416)204-1080
(For info and group bookings, call Nightwood Theatre at 595-5605.)
 
That's all...