By R. Paul Dhillon
VANCOUVER – The annual Fringe festival is getting a taste of Desi with the new play Mrs. Singh and Me by writer-actor Munish Sharma.
As they did with Bollywood Wedding, another musical-drama featuring Sharma and many other South Asian actors, it is produced by Gurpreet Sian and Rohit Chokhani of South Asian Arts and Mrs. Singh & Me will make it’s premiere tonight at 6:55 pm at the Historic Theatre at the Cultch during the Vancouver Fringe Festival.
The premise of the show is funny and novel. Imagine if Romeo had kidnapped Juliet’s mother! What would happen next?!
Sharma (Iceland, This is War, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Chicken) debuts his skills as a playwright in this dark comedy. Love is in the air, but Mrs. Kuldeep Singh is having none of it. Her instincts could be right or she could be missing out on the best son-in-law she could ever ask for – Raj, whose methods are as extreme as his heart is sure.
Directed by Jessie Award-nominee Kathleen Duborg, and starring Sharma and award-winning actress Nimet Kanji as Mrs. Singh (Bollywood Wedding, The Violet Hour, Continuum), Mrs. Singh & Me confronts cultural traditions and tackles generational differences, along with a generous helping of chai and cookies.
“This has been a fun challenge for me,” says Sharma. “I’ve never written a play before so it has been interesting and exciting to slowly watch the characters come alive. I chose to write this play because we all judge people and ideas that we don’t understand. We fear concepts that are alien to us. I wanted to explore that as a writer and actor. I also wanted to write strong South Asian characters that represent strong cultural perspectives and expose not only South Asian themes, but Canadian themes as well. Above all, I hope the audience will interpret this as a play not only about South Asian culture, but about issues we all experience in Canada.”
Here are the dates if will run in the Fringe before moving to Surrey:
Friday, September 11: 6:55pm
Saturday, September 12: 1:00pm
Sunday, September 13: 3:30pm
Tuesday, September 15: 9:35pm
Friday, September 18: 10:00pm
Sunday, September 20: 6:35pm
An additional performance run will take place in Surrey from Friday, October 2 to Sunday, October 4 at the Newton Cultural Centre (13530 72 Avenue).
Tickets for the Vancouver dates are available online at tickets.vancouverfringe.com or in person from September 8-20 at the Fringe Box Office, located at 1398 Cartwright Street on Granville Island. Ticket prices are $14 (including applicable fees and taxes) with a First Vancouver Theatrespace Society (FVST) membership.
For more information, please visit www.southasianarts.ca
