Play by My Rules

Abstract

In the summer of 2019, I premiered an authorial presentation entitled ‘Plan B/C/D/E’, an hour-long interactive show about the imminent drowning of my home in Mumbai, brought on by the climate crisis. This auto-ethnographical thesis is a reflection on the creation and presentation of that piece. In particular, the aim of the thesis is to focus on the relationship between the audience and myself, the performer. I investigate the strategies I used to provoke and/or invite audience interaction, as also the strategies required for me to control the same. Though there is a pretence of openness and equality, through my reflections I realise that the performance and the interaction are both rather limited for the audience. The audience’s input is integral to the continuation and success of the show, yet the audience is treated more as material for the Text, rather than equal collaborators in this endeavour. In particular, I use the lens of performance-as-game or play, to understand the processes by which the audience is invited and restricted in their participation.