Actor Aparna Gopinath’s new play debuts in Chennai

When Aparna Gopinath and her team of actors started working on their play Stop, Look, But Proceed, she says they envisioned taking it to schools and colleges across the country. “Many of us who read the play, either knew of someone or had gone through similar experiences. As a theatre group, and an ensemble of actors, we began to wonder what we could do about it,” says the theatre artiste and actor.

Inspired by the Pulitzer-winning American play How I learned to Drive written by Paula Vogel, Stop, Look, But Proceed chronicles the story of a young girl who grew up in a complex, and sexually abusive relationship with her uncle.  Starring Mrittika, Fawas Ameer Hamsa, Pragathi Jadavshankar, Seema, Sanjana Jothiprakasam and Aarushi Krishnan, the play makes its debut in Chennai this week. 

“This is a story that does not belong to any specific era. As long as there are human bodies, there is abuse. It is not that this is a subject that needs advertisement– while there is a lot of awareness, it continues to be difficult for people to talk about abuse,” Aparna says. She further speaks about how when it involves a family member, there is a thicker shroud of secrecy. 

While in English with a few lines each in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam, the play has been adapted for the Indian stage. After their shows in Chennai, the production will also be staged in Puducherry, Bengaluru, Kerala and other states. 

At the end of each show, a therapist-guided discussion will take place about the themes the play deals with, and for the space to be thrown open to the audience to speak. “The end of the play catches you in your throat, and we did not want to leave it in a place of hopelessness. It is important for people to see if they can create a space within themselves to listen to their story, or any story without judgement,” Aparna says. 

Stop. Look, But Proceed will be staged at Koothu-p-pattarai, Virugambakkam, from June 20 to 22, and June 26 to 30. at 7 pm. Entry is free, and on a first-come-first-serve basis. For further details, contact 6385087557