Making Lattar [Vine]: a devised Launda Naach Performance
Research and Workshop setup for Collaborative Writing, Sharing and Structuring
to make a Contemporary-Folk Performance in collaboration with ‘folk’ artists, devised from the traditions of Launda and Nirgun; Based on real life incidents
Collectively authored by Sunaina (Sunil Ram), Raju Ranjan, Piyush Kashyap & Sipahi Lathor
First version of the play was comissioned by Maraa Media & Arts Collective
2024
In a house he has constructed, a man searches for space to express his sorrow.
Because the show must go on, a Launda artist is forced to continue performing while he receives the news of his spouse’s death.
A person dreams of their lover sending them a love-letter.
A Launda artist recalls having barely escaped dominant caste men trying to sexually harass him.
‘My wife loves me like a Launda’— a Launda artist shares few details from their love life.
zeropowercut’s specific role in the project was to collate and co-conduct on-field as well as theory based research on gender and ‘folk’ art/artist, design and conduct sharing and workshop sessions, co-organise and co-manage logistics and production, co-write songs and dialogues, and conceptualise scene-structure of the play.
*Launda Naach is a folk dance of the Bhojpuri speaking Community of India, Nepal, Mauritius and the Caribbean Islands. It is performed by males who dress as women to become ‘Launda’— a term which can mean: female impersonator, feminine man, queer man, and/or-alternatively a ‘folk’ artist-performer who practices this art-form. The term ‘Naach’ literally means dance, but in folk traditions can mean a mix of dance, drama, theatre, performance and storytelling.
