Daring exploration of female sexuality, misogyny, and gender bias

Project Darling by Dramanon, Bengaluru, directed by Sharanya Ramprakash, boldly explores female sexuality and misogyny in Kannada theatre.

Project Darling presented by Dramanon, Bengaluru, is a witty, daring exploration of female sexuality, misogyny and gender bias.

Directed by Sharanya Ramprakash, the quintessential feminist play presented at the International Theatre Festival of Kerala, unapologetically confronts the patriarchal constraints on the female body and exposes society’s hypocritical double standards.

The play is the culmination of a two-year research project conducted by Ms. Ramprakash with the grant from the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA). This research delved into the presence of women in Kannada theatre since 1940s, unearthing stories of actresses who once dominated the stage.

Central to the narrative is Khanavali Chenni, who ruled the Kannada stage with her bold performances laced with double-meaning dialogues and sexual innuendo. The play Project Darling follows a troupe of performers on a quest to uncover Chenni’s legacy, leading them to encounter tales of other prominent actresses of her era.

Oscillating between humour and wisdom, Project Darling is an incisive examination of female sexuality at the crossroads of censorships and culture and how these women faced the unrelenting misogyny.

“Women and female bodies are central to Kannada’s cultural imagination. Still there is a lot of censorship around female bodies in these spaces. The female performing body has been subject to several types of invisibilisation and marginalisation across the history of theatre,” says Ms. Ramprakash.

From the 1940s onwards, with the talkies forcing the companies to induct women actresses, the stage began to thrive with talented women whose artistry, dedication, and hard work played a crucial role in the growth and flourishing of Kannada theatre.