Written by Guleraana Mir and Afshan D’souza-Lodhi and Directed by Madelaine Moore- was on at VAULT Festival 2020.
Following their VAULT Festival Pick of Pleasance Award winning hit Ladykiller in 2019, The Thelmas returned to VAULT Festival with the tale of two young women – one Sikh, one Muslim – standing fast against circumstances that would separate them.
Against the backdrop of the partition of India, these two best friends bound by love resisted the forces that tried to tear them apart.
In circa 1945, two years before the partition of India, Santi and Naz are best friends who only think about stealing books, swimming in the lake and spying on the local hottie. But as social unrest spreads and families and communities are torn apart, neither understands how their religions are set to divide them, having lived side-by-side all their lives. Then when Naz is betrothed to a tailor in Rawalpindi and her feelings for Santi become complex and confusing, the girls reach cross-roads with terrible consequence.
Santi & Naz contributes to a conversation about postcolonial legacy whilst telling a fresh new story of female friendship, love, loyalty and identity, drawing from the recent legalisation of homosexuality in India in 2018. The show is set just before the partition of India, which split the country into Hindu and Sikh-majority India and Muslim- majority Pakistan, displacing over ten million people and leaving over one million dead. It has been described as the greatest humanitarian crisis of modern times, and the effects of the division can still be felt today.
Writer Guleraana Mir said, The partition of India was a major historical event yet it’s rarely shown on stage, which is why we wanted to create a show set at this time. However, we felt really passionate that the characters should be relatable, and that Santi and Naz should feel like two ordinary girls you’d see today waiting at a bus stop. They have the same wants and needs, the same hopes and desires as young women in 2020, except of course they lived at a time of great political turmoil.”
The Thelmas presented Ladykiller at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2018 and VAULT Festival in 2019; this year, they return with Santi & Naz and NOTCH (19 – 23 Feb), a new show from Croatian writer and performer Danaja Wass.
Santi & Naz is a collaboration between director Madelaine Moore (Ladykiller, Algorithms) and writers Guleraana Mir (Coconut, Mano’s) and Afshan D’souza-Lodhi (Hijabi (r)evolutions/It’s not about the Burqa). The show has music by Sarah Sayeed and has been made in consultation with Eleanor Newbigin, Senior Lecturer in the history of modern South Asia at SOAS, University of London. Ladykiller will be touring the UK in Spring 2020 from 3rd March – 2nd May, supported by house and Laura Elmes Productions.
Directed by Madelaine Moore
Produced by TheThelmas
Designed by Sascha Gilmour
Composer and sound design by Sarah Sayeed
Associate director Medhavi Patel Associate Producer Vikesh Godhwani Lighting design by Rajiv Pattani
The plot of the play unfolded true to the script, and with precision in this timely and pertinent play. The acting talent of the cast of both actors is natural, eloquent, engaging and impactful so much so that the audiences felt transported and a part of the time period in India and appeared immersed in the scenes, music, dance, words, and was an emotional feeling to feel one was in the middle of action at the time this period drama is set in. Three cheers for this production!
