SLIPPED THROUGH MY FINGERS
DIRECTOR: Verne Rowin Munsamy
CAST: Sivani Chinappan and Cindy Naidoo Baijoo
VENUE: The Catalina Theatre
UNTIL: Sunday
RATING: ***
WRITER and director Verne Rowin Munsamy’s latest production, Slipped Through My Fingers, really tugs at the heartstrings.
After watching it you might shed a tear, but you will likely leave the theatre moved for the better and with a deeper understanding of issues around people with disabilities and their families.
Local actresses Sivani Chinappan and Cindy Naidoo Baijoo – who is hearing impaired – play the roles of a mother and daughter (respectively) who have a troubled history.
After years of having no contact, and in the midst of a recent tragedy, the two find themselves thrown together. A series of conversations and recollections reveal the rocky road travelled both by a young girl trying to cope with a disability in a “normal” world, and that of a mother trying to be the best mother she can be, as best she knew how.
But can the two reconcile?
The narrative in this journey is one that is clearly penned from the heart as this story really manages to scratch beyond the surface of issues around disabilities. It affords the audience a chance to feel what it’s like from both ends – from the person with the disability (in this case a hearing impairment) and from a parent’s perspective in terms of raising a child with a disability.
The choice to use elements of spoken word (projected on a screen) and classical Indian dance, intertwined with drama, proves to be a good mix as they complement each other in the progression of this tale. Both the spoken word and the dance are as intimate and personal as the story that is being told.
That said, there are times when I felt a bit overwhelmed trying to focus on the poetry on the screen and the dance performance, while also trying to observe the mother-daughter reactions, which at times were all on the go at once.
Chinappan and Baijoo really get to the guts of their respective characters and at times will have you tearing up. But this is balanced with occasional light moments in the tale, so that you don’t leave the theatre feeling heavy and burdened, but realistically enlightened.
A very different and original story that reflects everyday life for a lot of families and one that will humanise you a bit more with regards to such issues.
With the brief run finishing off this week, it’s worth catching before it ends.