‘Public Obscenities’ Showcases a Luminous Slice of India Which is Rarely Seen in American Mainstream Theater

Shayok Misha Chowdhury’s  “Public Obscenities,” being staged at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, D.C., charms the viewer with its luminous set designs, which evokes Kolkata with its old-world charm. The lighting changes from early morning to the evening and then to nighttime with techniques that are very effective in establishing the mood of the play. Chowdhury’s Kolkata is drenched in nostalgia and seems suspended in animation with all its stylized pauses and silences. Details like setting up a “moshari” to protect oneself from the ever-present mosquitoes at night, to the drinking of tea served with biscuits, the Indian version of cookies, does not fail to charm the audience soaked with nostalgia.

The central protagonist, Choton, is ably played by Abrar Haque who visits India for a Ph.D. research project with his African American cinematographer boyfriend, Raheem, performed by the amazing and yet understated Jakeem Dante Powell.

The project is vaguely defined as being related to transgenders and the LGBTQ people and Choton interviews members from the transvestite community through the course of the play. He also wants to introduce Raheem to the sights and sounds of Kolkata through interactions with his extended family. This includes Pishimoni, played by the spirited Gargi Mukherjee, the dutiful daughter of the dead patriarch, and her good-for-nothing husband played by the loveable Debashis Roy Chowdhury. Pishe, as he is lovingly referred to, develops an addiction to online billiards and other escapist fantasies to while away his time. Then there is the charming servant, Jitesh, played brilliantly by Gotam Sarwar Harun, who seems to be the only innocent caught up in the never-ending obsessions of the family.

Through the use of several stylistic techniques, such as long pauses and wordless action, Chowdhury brings to life a middle-class Bengali household with its elitist outlook, where an alternative gay lifestyle is acceptable but, within the context of a white-collar education. There is the long dead patriarch who is venerated by his daughter, and grandson Chotun. Pishimoni refuses to accept the reality of her father’s lifestyle unearthed fortuitously by Raheem, when he develops a long-buried roll of film left in an old camera. The secrets are hinted at and never clearly revealed as are many other events in the narrative. 

The device of hinting at and never clearly revealing long held secrets is a strategy effectively employed by the playwright. There are prolonged discussions of what the old photos portray but one is never clearly aware of the nature of the dysfunction. Pishe spends most days chatting on an old computer and the audience strains to read the conversation on the teleprompter between him and a random woman in Minnesota who turns out to be as lonely attempting to liven her life with kinky online conversations.

The actors Chowdhury chose deserve a special mention as they very effectively donned the personas of the characters they played.

Act One focuses on a conversation between Choton and Raheem as they go to bed. The stage is dimly lit and the conversation barely audible as the audience strains to understand the relationship between the two main characters. In Act Two the action speeds up as the household servant , Jitesh, discovers the two main characters indulging in sexual horseplay. When Raheem wants to apologize, Choton brushes aside his concerns as unnecessary because he is a mere servant.  This leads to long silences as the audience struggles to comprehend the progression of the relationship. Incidentally, along with a soulful performance, Jitesh is blessed with a beautifully trained voice which he is able to display a few times over the course of the narrative.

The disjointed storyline, however, which doesn’t always believe in connecting the dots ends up being the biggest weakness of the play. It gives us a snapshot of dysfunctional relationships which never amount to much because the audience is confused about where the relationships are heading. We see a beautiful snapshot of Kolkata drenched in its mores and rituals, which amount to naught in the absence of a driving narrative. The stillness of the play is effective at times but proves to be tedious as the play is extended beyond what is necessary.

In closing, Shoyok Misha Chowdhury is a promising new South Asian American playwright who uses effective narrative techniques to showcase a world which is rarely seen in American mainstream theater. I hope the next time around, he choses to tell a more compact story with clear end goals. The actors he chose deserve a special mention as they very effectively donned the personas of the characters they played. The set design was spectacular to say the least and authentically evoked Kolkata in all it’s old world charm.

Top photo: Abrar Haque, Gargi Mukherjee, and Golam Sarwar Harun. Photo courtesy of Woolly Mammoth Theatre.

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Suneeta Misra is an actor, writer, playwright, and filmmaker. Her recent play “Three Sisters” was produced by Natya Bharati and staged in 2022 in the Washington, D.C., region and at the South Asian Theater Festival in New Jersey in 2023.  She has written and directed several fictional and documentary films, which have been shown at international festivals. “A Dream of Education in Modern India” is a documentary on women’s education. “Sherlock Sai” starring Pooja Batra is a TV pilot. “Looking For Mr. Right,” starring Omi Vaidya of “Three Idiots” fame is a satire on the issue of South Asian dating, was streamed on Hotstar/Disney Plus in India. Her short film, “Crazy Bird Lady” looks at issues of racism, depression and loneliness during the Covid-19 pandemic, is currently streaming on Pocket Films. “The Old Man and the Boy,” starring Shishir Sharma, which focuses on the transformative power of human relationships was shot on location in Mumbai in 2022 and has already garnered several awards at festivals.