DO YOU KNOW THIS SONG?
Mallika Taneja (New Delhi)
Schedule
At one end lies the dark space of broken dreams, at the other, the slippery slope of happiness… in between is a tale about a voice that once was beautiful, unforgettable… and now forgotten.
‘This voice was a voice of the stage, of this world. A voice that was close to me... one that I loved very much.. and perhaps... still love?’
She wades through long forgotten stories to unearth a life that vanished. Whose voice remained ingrained in memory of those who heard it... but the song – disappeared.
These songs have now been collected from the found fragments of forgetting, straining memories... and placed on stage. Revisited. Reimagined. Restrung.
With her harmonium, a microphone, and some toys and objects from her childhood, the performer returns, as an adult, to look for the person she lost, a singer and her songs. Who was she? Where did she go, and most importantly, why did she get lost?
The performer ventures into the land of not- forgetting; as she moves between searching, singing, and telling a tale of grief, Mallika Taneja invites people to join in.
Plain language
At one end lies the dark space of broken dreams, at the other, the slippery slope of happiness… in between is a tale about a voice that once was beautiful, unforgettable… and now forgotten.
‘This voice was a voice of the stage, of this world. A voice that was close to me... one that I loved very much.. and perhaps... still love?’
She wades through long forgotten stories to unearth a life that vanished. Whose voice remained ingrained in memory of those who heard it... but the song – disappeared.
These songs have now been collected from the found fragments of forgetting, straining memories... and placed on stage. Revisited. Reimagined. Restrung.
With her harmonium, a microphone, and some toys and objects from her childhood, the performer returns, as an adult, to look for the person she lost, a singer and her songs. Who was she? Where did she go, and most importantly, why did she get lost?
The performer ventures into the land of not- forgetting; as she moves between searching, singing, and telling a tale of grief, Mallika invites people to join in.
Biography
In her performances, installations, and curatorial works, Mallika Taneja deals with questions of gender, solidarity, and remembrance. She is especially interested in the political possibilities presented by a performative ensemble and the role that songs play in the leaving behind and in the collection of traces of people, places, and objects. She received the 2015 Acknowledgement Prize for BE CAREFUL and the ZKB Patronage Prize for ALLEGEDLY in 2021.
Mallika Taneja already guested at SPIELART with her 2017 work SORRY FOR THE INTERRUPTION and as a co-curator in 2021, when she was responsible for the REST OF THE STRUGGLE special programme. She lives and works in New Delhi, India.
Cast
Performance, Presentation, Direction Mallika Taneja Dramaturgy Hansa Thapliyal Lighting Design Sangeet Shrivastava Sound Design Chayan Adhikari Stage Decor Sangeet Shrivastava | Hansa Thapliyal and Vijay Kate | Tanuj Arora Text Collaboration Rajesh Nirmal Production Aman Mohammadi | Dhrishti Chawla | Rishika Kaushik Puppet Maker Aman Mohammadi | Dhrishti Chawla Songbook Design Bindhumalini N Tailoring Muzammil | Praveen Kumar With the voices of Banwari Taneja | Bindhumalini N | Chayan Adhikari | Kajal Ghosh | Nadeera Zaheer Babbar | Sudha Thapliyal | Suhasini Taneja | Sunanda Achar
The piece is based on interviews and conversations with Banwari Taneja | Elizabeth Achar | Geetika Thapliyal | Hansa Thapliyal | Kajal Ghosh | Maude Gonsalves | Nadira Zaheer Babbar | Nandini Guha Rajagopal | Oona Gupta | Raj Babbar | Sudha Thapliyal | Suhasini Taneja | Sunanda Achar
Info
Accessibility
Production & Realization
Co-Production The WEB network: La Maison de la danse CDCN Uzès Gard Occitanie | WPZimmer | Beursschouwburg | Black Box Teater | Tanzquartier Wien | Frascati Productions | LES SUBS - Lyon (FR) | Points communs - Nouvelle Scène nationale de Cergy-Pontoise / Val d’Oise. As well as Kaserne Basel | Zürcher Theater Spektakel | Nationaltheater Mannheim | SPIELART Theaterfestival
Funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation. | Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
