Mallika Taneja

Violence against women and gang rapes are a daily and sad reality in India. What prompted the young actress Mallika Taneja to create this performance were not only those facts but rather the superficial, stupid but persistent justifications of those crimes. Starting from the number one anti-rape rule, «decent, unprovocative clothing», her scathing and witty performance «Thoda Dyan Se» cuts right to the heart of the absurdity of such recommendations. «Caution is central to a woman's experience of life in India. It is prescribed, imbibed and practiced with rigour, so that women can be ‹safe›. ‹Thoda Dhyan Se› is a satirical piece that challenges this notion of safety. Rooted in a widespread anger against the everyday violence against women, the performance confronts the unfortunate conflation between the manner in which women dress and the atrocities committed against them– as if the former begets the latter. Stripping down a culture hiding behind its ignorant, prudish mores, I expose the contradictions at the heart of India's stunted social progress»‚ writes Mallika Taneja about her piece. 

Mallika Taneja is a member of New Delhi's committed cultural scene. Apart from being an actress and member of the theatre collective Tadpole Repertory, she is the founder and curator of the cultural festival Lost & Found, which took place for the first time in Delhi in November 2014. Whether on stage or as a curator, Mallika Taneja's main interest is the interaction with the audience. This counts for Delhi, Jaipur and surely also for Zurich. (esc)