Boys With Cars at Monument National Reviewed
Boys with Cars. Photo by Dahlia Katz
The opening of Boys With Cars, written and choreographed by Anita Majumda and directed by Brian Quirt, is smashing. After ten minutes or so of hip hop music a dancer appears on a raised box. Suddenly the music changes and the dancer performs classical Indian dance, mudras and all. It is a delightful beginning, and the dialogue, which relates to the thoughts and adventures of every female adolescent, is universal.
The non-linear form of the text allows the character to meander through adolescent love, adolescent nemesis, and hate. This non- linearity gives the performer many opportunities to dance, which she does superbly. Halfway though this monologue it felt that the shtick of her performance, speaking as the macho boyfriend and his rival is amusing, but hard to follow. Then with one splendid final dance, this part of the show ends.
What happened next is genius. The performer transforms herself into her bubbly blonde nemesis. The audience watches her put in blue lenses and don a curly blonde wig. The humdrum complaints and stories of the brown adolescent are reflected by her white counterpart. She becomes a kind of mirror image of adolescent female angst. It is funny and poignant. Most hilarious is the performance of an Indian dance done by a Caucasian who has little feeling for the music or rhythms she is trying on. Just when you feel you may not really empathize with this Anglo kid, she reveals that her mother is alcoholic and then comes a final surprise at the end which turns everything around.
The ability of Anita Majumdar is breath-taking. Her marriage of movement and dialogue is fantastic, and her conversion into an Anglo female is shockingly brilliant. The audience were utterly mesmerized and the applause was thunderous. There were some un-finished through lines about her dance teacher and her real parents. However, if you can get out in the rain and cold, this is the play you want to see.
Boys With Cars is at Le Monument -National (1180 Blvd St. Laurent.) on Thursday November 30 at 7 p.m. and Saturday December 2 at 2 p.m. Tickets HERE.
