Playwright, actress, filmmaker, artist, author and activist, Radha Menon Credit: Stephanie Beeley
Stateless in the UK until age seventeen, activist and multi-disciplinary artist Radha S. Menon emigrated to Regina, Saskatchewan in 1995 where her performance career abruptly ended, and her writing career began.
Radha’s plays have been produced at theatre festivals in Canada, the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), and India. They include Blackberry, as well as Ganga’s Ganja, Rukmini’s Gold, Rise of the Prickly Pear, The Circus, The Washing Machine and soon to be performed The Devi Triptych -- a series that explores the contemporary reimagining of traditional Hindu tales.
Radha also founded Red Beti Theatre in 2011. Pronounced Red Bayti, the name means red daughter in English. Red Beti is Hamilton’s first feminist Indigenous, Black and People of Colour (IBPOC) theatre company.
Radha is passionate about the representation of marginalised communities on stages, believing that inclusion is imperative. As such, Radha was a founding member of the Coalition of Black and Racialised Artists (COBRA) and served on the board of directors for three years.
Her areas of expertise include women’s rights, Dalit’s rights and the decolonization of theatre, its practices and spaces. Radha was the recipient of the City of Hamilton’s 2020 Arts Innovation Award and the 2016 Theatre Award.
The last time that Radha and I spoke, we ended our conversation abruptly – because we ran out of time. She was discussing the role of patriarchy, colonization and imperialism on the lives of girls and women, in particular those girls and women who are often referred to as marginalized. Radha and I pick up where we left off, but also talk about how folks can decolonize their ears, ways of thinking and being.
We start with patriarchy which is defined as a system of society or government where the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line. This is a system where men also hold the power and those are predominantly white Christian men who’s beliefs are often imposed on other cultures through colonization and imperialism.
Then, we turn the conversation to colonization which historically has meant Christian Europeans settling among Indigenous peoples of other territories and exploiting the people, culture, ways of governing and the environment in lands they claim to have “discovered.”
Radha knows first hand from her travels to Karnataka, India and her conversations with Devadasi, Dalits, women and trans folk exactly what colonization by the Portuguese and then the British meant for India and disadvantaged folk.
Then, there’s imperialism — both governmental and corporate — that’s defined as a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. We are currently experiencing imperialism in real time as the America government sanctions the killing Venezuelan folks by blowing up boats crossing between Venezuela and Trinidad and have historically experienced it with the US led war in Iraq. However, Canada is not exempt from exerting imperialism like it did in Iran and Hati.
Radha and I discuss how imperialism has expanded patriarchal and colonial agendas and harmed folks who identify as Indigenous, Black, Brown, women, lesbians, gay, bisexual and trans.
We also talk about the interconnectedness of the oppression of women and the abuse and exploitation of the environment. Françoise d'Eaubonne devised the concept of Ecofeminism which maintains that patriarchy’s systems of oppression — sexism, racism and environmental destruction — must be dismantled simultaneously. We also look at ways the arts can counter this destructive narrative.
Poster for 5th Annual Decolonize Your Ears Festival Credit: Red Beti Theatre
Radha created the Decolonise You Ears Festival to give voice to playwrights who would otherwise have a really hard time being heard and seen. We discuss the inspiration behind the festival and how audiences have reacted over the years.
Brick Lane Bargain by Radha Menon, Ancestors Soup by Carly Anna Billings and Nbwaachaadaa Nokomis by Danielle Boissoneau will be featured at this year’s Decolonise Your Ears Festival holding space at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, ON, from October 10th to 12th. This is a pay-what-you-want event.
We end today’s podcast exploring just how difficult it is for Indigenous, Black and Brown playwrights to get promotion and coverage of their work in the mainstream media. What those theatre critics are saying about this often unconventional, divergent art. And, explore whether those critics actually understand the intended message.
Decolonize Your Ears features:
Brick Lane Bargain by Radha Menon 7 pm October 10
Ancestors Soup by Carly Anna Billings 7 pm October 11
Nbwaachaadaa Nokomis by Danielle Boissoneau 3 pm October 12
The October 12 play reading will be followed by a short collaborative play about the housing crisis called, The Hanging.
Get Decolonize Your Ears tickets here.
Find out more about Red Beti Theatre.
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Thanks to everyone who read today’s article and listened to my podcast. With your financial support, a little Nicoll can make a lot of change.
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Music: Real Estate by UNIVERSFIELD is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License. freemusicarchive.org.
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