Acting Up

Acting Up, throws light on many such subversive moments in the history of women doing theatre, and brings together Mangai’s many sides – the individual, the scholar and the artist. The canvas of Acting Up is expansive. Mangai charts the beginnings of a visibly strong women’s theatre in the late 70s and 80s and traces its evolution up until today. It is clear that women’s engagement with theatre had an important functional character in the beginning, drawing directly from issues that the women’s movement sought to address. Burning social problems such as dowry, sexual violence and female infanticide led to the formation of autonomous or affiliated women’s groups. Subsequently, the strength of these organised women’s movements led to a search for expression through cultural forms such as theatre.