Two siblings, separated by miles and years. A woman who can’t help but lie, even though it all sounds like the truth. All of them yearning for connection. Zaiba Baig’s latest plays, Kainchee Lagaa + Jhooti: The Begging Brown Bitch Plays, directed by Tawiah Ben M’Carthy, are a thought provoking and boundary pushing double bill having their world premiere at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Using direct address and brilliant staging, The Begging Brown Bitch Plays see you just as much as you see them.

Kainchee Lagaa

Billo is hard at work; her customer is certainly getting his fill and she’s moaning along, letting him enjoy her body. We, the audience that is, are another potential customer, or a documentarian, it’s hard to tell by how Billo addresses us. We then meet Arsalan, a young man who has met a woman online who he believes to be his long-lost sister. Leaving his grandmother behind (we think) and flying back to his native India, Arsalan wants to bring a pair of scissors for his sister – an inside joke they used to share. But will the siblings reconnect the way Arsalan hopes? Or will time and distance have made them strangers?

The title, Kainchee Lagaa, refers to the scissors themselves: the symbol of Billo’s desire as a young child to become the person she is today through trimming the unwanted parts of herself. These seemingly magical scissors are endowed with the memories of that vulnerable period in their lives, and of other things which Billo would rather forget.

Angel Glady’s Billo is fierce yet sweet; she knows what she wants and how to get it, but she’ll always do so with a smile. Praneet Akilla is dashing as ever as Arsalan. He gives Arsalan this very privileged air, making him a perfect foil to Billo, who lives a very different lifestyle. Xina completes this stellar cast as the various people the siblings encounter on their journey to one another, bringing a light and comedy to their roles.

Jhooti

It’s her scream we hear first – the scream of someone being followed, someone in danger. Sakeena bursts onto the stage in a state of pure terror, running from a man who wants to chop her up into bits. But what if Sakeena actually wants to be chopped? What if she wants someone to break her down into little pieces? But that’s all a lie – or so she tells us.

Zaiba Baig takes to the stage theirself to perform Jhooti, a monologue which perfectly embodies its title: false. When Baig drops the character of Sakeena, they tell us that everything Sakeena said was a lie, but then proceeds to tell us stories full of more falsehoods. Jhooti makes us question not only what Sakeena has told us, but what we’ve seen in general as the lies start to sound familiar and each story is more engrossing than the last.

Baig delivers an emotionally charged performance, clearly giving their all into this tense finale. Having seen them on “Sort Of” many times over, it was incredible to witness their live performance but also to have them deliver a piece which presented many challenges to our preconceived notions and common stereotypes.

For both shows, Rachel Forbes’ set designs made excellent vertical use of the space, while also providing several surprises. In Kainchee Lagaa, the sheer curtains allow us to see, or not see, whatever Billo wants us to see. Jhooti’s forest gives Sakeena very few places to hide, but indeed has its own secret which truly makes a splash.

The Begging Brown Bitch Plays are the epitome of the work of both House of Beida and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre; queer stories, meant to make you think and reflect, while also making space for BIPOC trans and queer voices to be heard. I know that I’ll certainly be thinking about these plays for a long time, and I’m actively looking forward to seeing what Zaiba Baig will create next.

Kainchee Lagaa + Jhooti: The Begging Brown Bitch Plays is playing in the Chamber Space at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre until April 18. For more information and tickets, visit: https://buddiesinbadtimes.com/show/the-begging-brown-bitch-plays/

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Cover Photo: Angel Glady. Photo by Jeremy Mimnagh. Set design by Rachel Forbes, costume design by Ming Wong, lighting design by André du Toit

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