Performance with 5 contemporary monologues delves into taboo subjects

A scene from Taboo Talks Season 3

What better medium than theatre to address issues that people are usually uncomfortable to talk about? When Baljeet Randhawa, co-founder of Dream Stage, realised this, he started Taboo Talks to encourage a conversation about shunned or unvoiced characters.

Baljeet Randhawa

The first edition launched in May last year, featured stories related to sex, as Randhawa believed that most Indians shy away from the subject even today. "I wanted to present one singular perspective, hence I designed the show in a set of monologues. It is about the topics that make us uncomfortable and the stories that might not get a voice. There are so many situations in society that are perceived to be wrong. Why can't we respect a person's freedom of choice of lifestyle? Society also tends not to talk about things it finds inappropriate. For instance, who knows or wants to know about the life of a female stripper," says Randhawa, who has written two and directed three of the acts. "In the current edition, I decided to focus on subjects completely unrelated to sex," he adds.

For this season, the monologues include the story of a wife of a homosexual man, an army jawaan questioning the idea of nationalism, a teenager sharing tales about her periods, an actor talking about his severe depression and a tale of incest (a love story between a brother and sister).

"We are not passing judgment on whether any of these are right or wrong. We want to start a conversation about why they could be either," shares Randhawa, adding, "It is fresh talent and writing. We try to work with different writers. We choose subjects after brainstorming sessions and research, after which writers send me a first draft. The first two seasons were well received. We're hoping people enjoy this set too," he sums up.