Indian Embrace

American raised Playwright Carol Dance has joined forces with the Indian Australian Association of South Australia to bring to the stage her cross-cultural play Indian Embrace, a tale of connection with family and country. Dance aims to teach us life lessons and traditions, but with mixed results.

The action takes place in a guesthouse located in Varanasi, India. Location is established with projections on the back wall and a distinctive Indian soundtrack.

Act one immediately establishes a close bond between elderly guesthouse owner Vikram (Shubhraj) and Australian aid worker John (Nick Bennett), with this evoking a sentiment free of the materialism of the western world. However, cultural differences and ideologies are never more evident than when John’s family arrive for a reunion. Over-zealous Pamela (Kyla Booth) is establishing a telecommunications business in the town and Brother Chris (Aaron Broomhall) is fulfilling his mother’s dying wish to mend the acrimonious relationship between his siblings.

When writing about nationalities and cultures other than their own, writers have the added challenges of taking care not to facilitate stereotypes. The lengthy script for Indian Embrace is over-complicated with too many sub-plots, taking emphasis away from the primary message. Apparent lack of clear direction by Director Peter Ryan meant actors were taking long pauses, often affecting pace. Actors seemed unsure of lines and were often left flailing down stage.

Dance attempts to shift our perceptions and reactions to tragedy, whether it be about poverty, violence or personal loss, but never finds the right balance. This is a script that would have benefited from culling and tight direction and because of this, the power of the message is unfortunately less potent than it could have been.

There is no denying the enthusiasm of the cast as they do their best to work with a complicated script. With experience comes attention to detail and stagecraft. Given that this is their first venture into theatre, they can be forgiven for the many short-comings this production offers up.

Kerry Cooper