Mahesh Dattani’s new play weaves together queer histories across civilisations

Mahesh Dattani and Jonathan Taikina Taylor collaborate play, ‘The Monk & The Warrior’, to be staged at Mumbai’s Experimental Theatre from April 2 to 5

Playwright Mahesh Dattani, recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award (1998), has played a pivotal role in shaping contemporary theatre in India. Since his debut with the 1988 satirical play, Where There’s A Will, he has boldly explored themes such as religious fanaticism, homosexuality, child abuse and gender bias. His works include Dance Like A Man, Tara, On a Muggy Night in Mumbai and Gauhar.

Mahesh has now teamed up with Brooklyn-based director Jonathan Taikina Taylor on the queer epic The Monk & The Warrior, to be staged at Mumbai’s Experimental Theatre from April 2 to 5. Featuring an international cast, the play begins with a “historically-accurate encounter between Alexander the Great and a Buddhist monk, which explodes into a love story that traverses culture, space and time, weaving together queer histories across centuries and civilisations. 

“Though the inspiration comes from history, I still consider this play to be contemporary as the issue is still relevant. It talks about who we choose as our heroes. Often, the conqueror is seen as a hero, while the one choosing non-violence is perceived as a passive personality,” says Mahesh.

Brooklyn-based director Jonathan Taikina Taylor.  | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The idea for the play, he adds, came from Jonathan. “I got to know Jonathan through a friend, Akshay Gandhi, who had studied with him in New York. I also saw his production on Helen of Troy in New York and invited him to do a workshop, while he was in India. We kept in touch, and one day, he sent me a mail requesting me to write this play.”

Jonathan, the artistic director of The SuperGeographics, says he first thought of The Monk & The Warrior during a visit to Nepal and India in 2019. “When I came to Bengaluru, I met people from the queer community. I thought I’d work on a play that looked at how queerness can be a counterpoint to the colonial mindset. Colonisation is all about going into a community and dictating how people should be. Queerness, in contrast, is about being within a community and allowing them to be themselves.”