Yasmin's Juliet, the black Romeo and Papa Kassim
When Yasmin Allibhai-Brown played Juliet to a black Romeo in a school play, a long time ago Uganda, I was also there. No, I was not Romeo but acted as one of the invited guests to the 'party' where Juliet first meets Romeo.
It was an excellent production by any standards. The producer and director was an English expatriate teacher known as Joyce Mann, who tried 'integrated casting' as we know it today. What was exceptional about the play was that it was being performed in 1965 and the parents of the children who were acting in it were predominantly Asian. I was wearing my Sikh turban and my 'wife' was dressed in an immaculate sari. I did not challenge Mrs Mann too much - most Sikh women do not wear the sari. There were other races and communities on the stage, all wearing national and traditional costumes. There was also a character wearing the Gandhian 'dhoti' because I remember that he was struggling with it.
It was only when Juliet kissed the black Romeo, that the reaction of the audience went from surprise and acclaim to shock and sheer disgust. Many people could not cope with the reality of Yasmin's role. Had they come to the play expecting that the stage would be thrown into total darkness at that precise moment? Today, over 40 years later, many Indian films still shy away from showing the kissing scene. Clever cinematographic techniques are deployed and in addition many a bus or even a cow happens to pass in front of the lovers at that precise moment. The speed at which the cow or the bus passes to hide the intimate scene has not attracted any protests.
The Mail on Sunday, May 28, 2006 covered Yasmin's story and 'how her family was torn apart by racial prejiudice...'
Yasmin says that she has struggled to figure out 'why my father froze me out of his life forever...'.
I know one thing for certain. Her father, Mr Kassim Damji was actually very proud of her. When I met him at a school function he talked to me about the importance of good education. I told him that Yasmin was in my class. I added that she was very a clever student and that she was doing exceptionally well. He nodded as if saying that he did not need to be reminded about the fact that everyone acknowledged Yasmin's talents.
What went wrong in that simple and honest depiction of what I regard to be one of Shakespeare's best plays? Joyce Mann was an excellent teacher and director and was trying to portray the multicultural nature of the Ugandan society of the time. Is it possible that she misjudged the reaction of her audiences, especially parents? It was only a school play. Should she have spoken to Yasmin's parents in advance? Would any act of censorship have curtailed Mrs Mann's freedom of expression? It is impossible to say even if Yasmin had agreed for the caution to prevail.
Asian parents were confused. Not many years later, my own father refused to send me to study in England - one of his sons had married an European woman after they had met at a university in the Midlands. My father was worried that I would do the same.
When Yasmin Allibhai-Brown played Juliet to a black Romeo in a school play, a long time ago Uganda, I was also there. No, I was not Romeo but acted as one of the invited guests to the 'party' where Juliet first meets Romeo.
It was an excellent production by any standards. The producer and director was an English expatriate teacher known as Joyce Mann, who tried 'integrated casting' as we know it today. What was exceptional about the play was that it was being performed in 1965 and the parents of the children who were acting in it were predominantly Asian. I was wearing my Sikh turban and my 'wife' was dressed in an immaculate sari. I did not challenge Mrs Mann too much - most Sikh women do not wear the sari. There were other races and communities on the stage, all wearing national and traditional costumes. There was also a character wearing the Gandhian 'dhoti' because I remember that he was struggling with it.
It was only when Juliet kissed the black Romeo, that the reaction of the audience went from surprise and acclaim to shock and sheer disgust. Many people could not cope with the reality of Yasmin's role. Had they come to the play expecting that the stage would be thrown into total darkness at that precise moment? Today, over 40 years later, many Indian films still shy away from showing the kissing scene. Clever cinematographic techniques are deployed and in addition many a bus or even a cow happens to pass in front of the lovers at that precise moment. The speed at which the cow or the bus passes to hide the intimate scene has not attracted any protests.
The Mail on Sunday, May 28, 2006 covered Yasmin's story and 'how her family was torn apart by racial prejiudice...'
Yasmin says that she has struggled to figure out 'why my father froze me out of his life forever...'.
I know one thing for certain. Her father, Mr Kassim Damji was actually very proud of her. When I met him at a school function he talked to me about the importance of good education. I told him that Yasmin was in my class. I added that she was very a clever student and that she was doing exceptionally well. He nodded as if saying that he did not need to be reminded about the fact that everyone acknowledged Yasmin's talents.
What went wrong in that simple and honest depiction of what I regard to be one of Shakespeare's best plays? Joyce Mann was an excellent teacher and director and was trying to portray the multicultural nature of the Ugandan society of the time. Is it possible that she misjudged the reaction of her audiences, especially parents? It was only a school play. Should she have spoken to Yasmin's parents in advance? Would any act of censorship have curtailed Mrs Mann's freedom of expression? It is impossible to say even if Yasmin had agreed for the caution to prevail.
Asian parents were confused. Not many years later, my own father refused to send me to study in England - one of his sons had married an European woman after they had met at a university in the Midlands. My father was worried that I would do the same.
posted by K Singh Ajimal at
11:24 pm
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