Virk - The Usual Auntijies

Paven Virk On one particular workshop reading for The Usual Auntjies, one of the actresses took me aside and said, I cannot believe I am reading about my life. I asked her which bits she meant, and she replied, I am Aunty 2, that is all I can say. I mention this as Aunty 2 to me is the voice that is rarely heard. She is the woman we pass sitting on a bench or waiting at a bus stop, dressed in her traditional outfit and avoiding any eye contact. She looks like all the other South Asian women who must have come here with certain expectations, of a new life, an adoring husband, children, many friends and a chance to share stories of where they came from and to learn about where they had arrived. For some, certain aspects have been realised but for others these expectations have been shattered.

Until the day Jasvir and I attended a workshop in a community centre in Coventry where a group of elderly South Asian women much like Aunty 2 were sat, I would not have truly appreciated these women and their stories. I knew from that day that I wanted to give a voice to these women in that room, the Auntijies who sit on a bench while people pass by. I also wanted to work closely with Mandy Sanghera, a human rights activist who had discussed some shocking cases with me regarding forced marriages that I feel demand a lot of support and greater awareness. For these women this is about overcoming the past, accepting the present and creating a future together by transcending their differences and becoming friends. The Usual Auntijies is something Ive been wanting to write for a long time, and the support of my mother Jasvir and my brother Hardish who both refuse to sit back when it comes to subjects they are passionate about allowed me to go from a light comedy to a play whose subject matter challenged me as a writer and therefore I hope challenges the audience. I have no idea how it will be received, but I would be more than happy if even one person in the audience were to be inspired by the play.

Paven Virk
January 2011

Hardish Virk and Multi Arts Nation, Jane Hytch and Imagineer Productions, Jasvir Kang, Harriet Pennington Legh, Mandy Sanghera, Anthony Clarke and the Hampstead Theatre, Frances Poet, Jittey Samra, Marion Doyen, Nicholas Stokes, Pippa Ellis, Dilwara Begum, Manj, Neil and Lyla, Kathi Leahy, Denise Pitter, Paul Nicholl, Archie Panjabi, Seema Bowri and KIRAN, Asian Womens Aid. Dedicated to Jasvir Kang, a mother, daughter and a voice of many women who are unable to use theirs. The reaction to Jasvirs poetry about South Asian women has sometimes overwhelmed me. She has the ability to silence a room and fill it with tears of joy, pain and anger as the audience react as if they are the person being spoken about or know of someone in those situations, but most importantly she is living proof that you can start a fresh life at any age, overcoming any obstacles that may come your way. Aunty 2, Storytelling Aunty; an elderly South Asian woman.Aunty 4, Lonely Aunty; an elderly South Asian woman.Aunty 5, Mischievous Aunty; a very striking elderly South Asian woman.Gurpreet, a bride from India.Raj, a British Asian man.Jasvir Kang(voiceover), a Punjabi radio presenter. Speech in italics indicates that Punjabi is being spoken. Benji translates as sister; it is a word used between women, even if they are not real sisters, as an affectionate term for each other. Dolli in olden days an Indian bride was sent to her husbands house in a wooden carriage called a dolli. V/OVoices of young girls playing.We hear the young girls playing in a field in India.V/OVoices of young girls playing.We hear the young girls playing in a field in India.

One girl shouts, I want to marry a prince and live happily ever after. It is echoed in different South Asian languages. The voices fade.Gurpreet (Indian, girl next door, late teens) is sat writing in her diary.Gurpreet It is November and I have had the best week visiting Uncle who said that he has found me a prince, Raj. He will appear on a white horse and take me to his castle, a castle tucked away in faraway Coventry! Uncle says it snows there every day, but my Raj will keep me warm. I will only settle for a someone who holds me as tight as Papa did. Someone who talks to me with a gentle voice, laughs at my silly jokes.

Uncle has fulfilled his duty and I shall now fulfil my duty, like Mother did with Papa. I shall write to Mother every week and send her many kisses Gurpreetcontinues talking while the music starts.Spotlight appears on a hand that places a needle on a record player. The hand belongs toAunty 5. Gurpreetexits.Music Les Misrables I Dreamed a Dream starts to play in the background.A verse plays over eachAuntijiesreveal.A Spotlight appears on the face of an elderly South Asian woman, Aunty 4. She is sat staring into space.A Spotlight comes up on a second elderly South Asian woman, Aunty 2. She is dressed in a (simple) traditional Indian salwar kameez.

Her face is scarred with a severe burn mark. Her hair is grey in a low bun. She sits at a table staring at a stack of tinned food. (Spam, corned beef, etc.)A Spotlight comes up on a third elderly South Asian woman, Aunty 5. She is dressed in an Indian suit that clashes with her bright modern high heels. Her grey/black hair is in a low ponytail.

She stands in front of a mirror staring at herself.Spotlights fade onAunty 2 and Aunty 4. They exit leavingAunty 5alone.Music fades.

HOUSE NO. 23. LIVING ROOMIt is dark.Aunty 5rushes to the window, gently lifts the curtain and looks outside. She has a mixture of a Scottish and Indian accent.Aunty 5 I know youre there I can see you. (Whispers.) I can see his eyes but with you by my side dear, I dont fear his eyes my dear friend do I? She drops the curtain and looks around. Dear ? Beat. Dear? Beat. Why did she leave me, Joan? She turns a table lamp on; lights come up on a simple living room.

There is a sofa, standing mirror, massage chair, TV, video, payphone, tape recorder and a small dining table (on the table is a pile of tinned food). On the floor is a bird cage covered with an emerald sheet and in the corner is a life-size cardboard cutout of Joan Collins as Alexis from Dynasty. Aunty 5looks over at a bare wall. The clock? Wheres the clock? She walks over to Joans cutout. Did you see her take the clock, Joan? Well, did you?
Ive a lot to do today, Ive (Stops herself.) Why did she take the clock? She snaps out of her state, sits on the sofa and rummages through her handbag. (Mutters) Just because we dont do anything does not mean we dont require the time. I mean, I need the time, otherwise She finds a note.