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Performed at the Arts Club Theatre, Anosh Irani’s The Matka King takes us to a land of harsh reality. Playing from Oct. 17th till Nov. 15th for only about $20.00, six actors and actresses bring the play to life. Set in the red light district of Bombay, in the world of brothels, prostitution, gambling, sin, and redemption, we find ourselves transfixed. The Matka King is an extraordinary tale of a Eunuch’s fate and fortune in his search to be a real man, a poor man’s search for an escape from his bondage, a poor man’s search to make his life whole again, and a prostitute’s struggle to gain her freedom in a world offering little autonomy or freedom. The Matka King is a dark and morbid circus laced with humour: We are introduced to a metaphor comparing the world to a vast circus. I found myself reminded of The Moulin Rouge wherein a mad little midget is running around singing and screaming, “ I only speak the truth. I only speak the truth.” The madness surrounding him is represented symbolically by a flurry of dancers. I found myself disgusted yet drawn to the story that unravels. It is reminiscent of being at the circus and not quite knowing where to stand in order to not be trampled by the lions and tigers. I began to wonder what ferocious truth this circus would reveal. It starts with the lights dimmed and the sole presence of Top Rani, a Eunuch, speaking “frankly” to the audience. Enticing them to interact and join in the laughter, he jokes and teases while dancing provocatively and making crude and erotic suggestions to the poor souls in the front row. Once he has gained our trust and acceptance he goes on to show what he is and what he is not. Top Rani shows us his way of life and his dealings, he teaches us of his blessed matka pot and his game of winning or losing numbers. I wondered why an emasculated man, a man without his manhood, would be the one at the centre of the play. If I am to identify with Top Rani and understand more clearly the circus enveloping me, in what way is my essential character disfigured or distorted? The characters were believable and the actors portrayed themselves as these characters with the sole exception of Aarti, the little girl. Seasoned actors brought the play to life and held it up but the casting of an eight-year-old with only a little experience on the stage was a risk they had to take. Craig Veroni plays the Eunuch, Top Rani. He steals us away to a place where sin is everywhere and magic is in the air. An incredible actor, he comes to the stage as a theatre performer and showers us in his character’s delights. Humorous and mysterious, he makes us love and hate him alike. Anouska Anderson Kirby plays Aarti, an eight-year-old girl who is innocent to the world and its evil ways. She finds herself without parents or a home in the hands of a Eunuch who wishes to sell her body for his profit. For an eight-year-old, she shows amazing stage presence and theatrical understanding but as a believable actress she has a ways to go. Unconvincing and flat, her lines are delivered to us as if straight from the paper.
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