Avinash Kolhe reviews Mahesh Dattani’s The Monk and the Warrior, a cross-cultural queer narrative blending history, mythology, and performance, staged at NCPA Mumbai with international cast, evocative music, and bold storytelling.

Avinash Kolhe’s review of Mahesh Dattani’s The Monk and the Warrior explores a richly layered theatrical experience that blends queer narratives, mythology, and history. Staged at NCPA Mumbai, the play stands out for its cross-cultural storytelling, international cast, philosophical depth, and evocative music, making it a significant contemporary theatre production.  

A play running across time, space and culture: Mahesh Dattani’s [born 1958] second play ‘Dance like a man’ caught the imagination of theatre-lovers and earned him rave reviews. His latest play ‘The Monk and the Warrior’ lives up to his well-earned reputation. This new play was staged in Mumbai between 2nd to 5th April at the Experimental Theatre, NCPA. It is produced by the SuperGeographics in association with the NCPA. This is a cross-cultural play with epic dimensions.

Though same-sex love has been important part of his inner world, this time Mahesh weaved this into a meaty story in which he has pitted Alexander [not ‘the Great’ for Mahesh] against an ordinary Indian monk. History tells us that Alexander [356 BC-323 BC] invaded northwest India in 326 BCE. In the play he meets a monk [a Bodhisattva]. Their interaction is central to this play. Hence the title.

A Surreal Journey Across Cultures

The playwright got the East [monk] and the West [Alexander] perspectives about queer myths, an interesting and imaginative theme indeed. In a way, it is a queer love story spanning space, time and culture, audiences follow Bodhisattva and Alexander through a surreal journey which weaves Indian and Western queer histories. By the way, Alexander was bisexual.

Dattani delves into the classic clash between ambition of Alexander to conquer the world and the desire of the monk to transcendent this world. Which is why the play is at once historical and contemporary. What is equally important about the play is that it tells us that there are no binaries in life. There is a warrior hidden in a monk and a monk hidden in a warrior.

Mythology Revisited Through a Queer Lens

Mahesh has brilliantly used stories like the Monkey and the Crocodile, Chandravati and Malavati, Shams and Rumi to drive home the point. These ancient stories are revisited here through a queer lens. They raise questions like what is means to accept and understand. Which is perhaps why the play has no linear narrative.

What is new about this play is that it is directed by Jonathan Taikian Taylor, a Brooklyn-based senior theatre person. Since this play is produced by The SuperGeographics, the cast is international which has members from India, USA, Australia and Finland. They are Caitlin George, Harsh Tharad, Juan Diergo Bonilla, Manjari K and Sachin Ravindran. While watching this play, I often got the feeling that I was watching Peter Brook’s Mahabharata on stage that had our very own Mallika Sarabhai as Draupadi.

Origins of the Play: A Contemporary Trigger

In an interview to The Hindu, Taylor mentioned that the idea of this play came to him when he visited India and Nepal in 2019. On touching Bengaluru, he spent time with some members of queer community where he realized that queerness can be a counterpoint to colonial mindset. Colonization is nothing but going into a country, a community and then dictating them how they should behave. On the other hand, queerness is about being within a community and allowing them to be themselves. This was the trigger.

Direction, acting all are top-class. But what calls for a special mention is the background music by Eero Hameenniemi of Finland. Background music has always been an important dramatic element. In this play it has been used most effectively, especially the use of clarinet. Walk a few miles if you must but watch this play.

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