Pooja

Written and performed by Rani Moorthy
Video sequences by Arthur Smith
Music by Jaydev Mistry

Stars, saris and superstition! An affectionate story for anyone who grew up caught between religious doctrine and the disco!

A mistimed birth. A miscalculated horoscope. Welcome to the crazy world of being born at the wrong time! Since everything in an Indian woman's life depends on the stars, there is drama, hysteria and absurd comedy everywhere. Pooja combines storytelling, ritual, stand-up and video for a comic close-up of a woman who defies fate from day one.

Pooja means ritual or offering in Sanskrit. This semi-autobiographical one-woman comic drama was premiered at Green Room, Manchester in April 1999, and has remained a popular part of Rasa's repertoire. Being seen extensively in the UK, Pooja has also toured internationally to Malaysia (2002) and to Sri Lanka (2003) for the British Council.

A collision of traditional culture and contemporary life, Pooja tells the story of Ranjana and the impact of her horoscope. With her destiny pre-ordained by time of birth, she juggles century-old rituals that will deflect foretold ills with the forbidden pleasures of modern life. Marrying a banana tree at dawn and flirting in the disco at night, Ranjana obeys her family with hilarious consequences.

Funny and moving Pooja draws on Rani Moorthy's cultural heritage of Tamil, Malaysian, Sri Lankan and Hindu influences. She plays twelve characters both on stage and in the video footage. Careful editing enables characters on stage to converse with those on video. Whilst typically Asian, these characters are recognisable to all, showing that every personal story, cultural ritual or foreign history has a universal understanding.

Creating Pooja

Rani Moorthy arrived in Manchester in 1996, the day the IRA bomb shattered the heart of the city centre. For a few hours her family in Malaysia thought the words of the horoscope expert were true "If your eldest daughter crosses the waters I won't be held accountable for her life".

She saw that the experiences of immigrant Asian's in the UK paralleled her own community of Sri Lankan Tamils in Malaysia. The insecurity and the need to keep heritage intact was a familiar situation, as was the adoption of multiple personalities to survive the demands of family and tradition. She started to write comic and poignant stories from her own experiences, arguing that only by embracing the culture of the mother country on ones own terms, will liberation from its traditions and superstitions be found. So Pooja was born.

The Press on Pooja

"...a bold and self-assured performance..." Manchester Evening News

"Spitfire acid wit delivery...she brought the house down...A+ for brilliant Pooja" Malay Mail

"****...complex, challenging and glorious... the writing is clear and strong" The Scotsman

"*****...utterly hypnotic...comical, heartfelt & captivating...something special" Three Weeks