Me and Women's Roles

Okay, so I'm in the mood and I feel like talking, so I'll answer Neeta's question about me and women's roles.

I went to an all-boy's school, so there had to be someone bold enough to be a girl in the plays.The First Standard concert was a no-choice affair. The teachers made us learn the parts and the moves, then demanded we get our sisters' clothes and poured us into them, willy-nilly. Case closed.

The "Fairy Queen" role was a different matter. It was originally given to a rather effeminate boy - cruel of the teachers, but Political Correctness was not yet in vogue - and he was mercilessly teased by the rest of the boys. To be cast as a girl was the ultimate insult and occasion for innumerable fights. At the start of rehearsals, I had actually been cast as the Rat, bodyguard to the Fairy Queen. Sometime into rehearsals, the poor Fairy Queen just got tired of fighting and opted out. I don't know what made me volunteer, but I did. I distinctly remember raising my hand and saying, "Miss, I'll do it." Her kiss on my cheek sealed the deal (I think it was like a week before the show). Even then, I never backed down from a fight, although I was among the smallest of the boys in the class, and I credit my Fairy Queen role with the development of several self defence techniques that would have made Bruce Lee proud.

Here's a funny thing that happened on the night of the actual performance: In order to get onto the stage, which had been built up with benches and matting to resemble a mountain slope, I had to be lifted onto a bench offstage. A teacher lifted me and put me on the bench. Unfortunately, I was unaccustomed to dresses and didn't know enough to raise the hem before being set down. As a consequence, my feet set squarely upon the hem and I was unable to move. The teachers thought I had stage fright and kept exhorting me to "go! Don't be scared." I was desperately trying to tell them I wasn't scared, just stuck. Finally, I gathered the skirt in my hands, bent my knees, then jumped up, pulled the skirt up while I was still in the air and landed safely on the bench, with no skirt beneath my feet. Stepping onto stage and then taking the evening was no big deal.

"Charley's Aunt" was just another case (at least, initially) of no one else wanting the role. I recognised its potential, relished the challenge it offered - that of a teenager trying to pass himself off as an aged female - and jumped at it. If you want to know about the boobs, meet me in person :-)

Deepak