Anusree Roy’s world premiere, Through the Eyes of God, a follow-up to Pyassa (2007, Theatre Passe Muraille), centres on young mother Chaya, who, according to the press release, is now navigating desperation, loss, and the stark realities of a broken system.
Unfortunately, I’m at a disadvantage. I did not see Pyassa, which the press release says sold out at Passe Muraille. It also won two Dora awards for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Performance. That’s wonderful when that happens.
Further information from the press release: “Twenty years have passed. Chaya is arrested for stealing rice to feed her daughter, Krishna. Chaya soon discovers an even greater horror: Krishna has been trafficked to Delhi. Driven by love, Chaya embarks on a gut-wrenching journey where every lead is a gamble, every choice impossible, and the stakes are heartbreakingly high.”
Under Thomas Morgan Jones’s careful direction, Gabriella Sundar Singh delivers an achingly genuine, believable performance as a mother who will do absolutely anything to ensure her child’s safety, and it is spellbinding. I bought every minute of her desperation and angst.
Visually, the intimate Backspace at Theatre Passe Muraille is well suited to the physical and emotional connection Singh makes with the audience over the 60-minute run time. Romeo Candido’s eerily haunting sound design is the first auditory element heard upon entering the Backspace. It’s terrific to the ear. It plays over and over, and I don’t get tired of hearing it. I feel as if I’m transported to another world to witness an event that keeps me focused.
Jawon Kang’s simplicity in set design: a large box on which Singh both stands and sits during the performance, is centre stage. David DeGrow’s lighting acutely incorporates both dark and shadows on the bare stage. Throughout the run time, DeGrow’s lighting indicates the passage of time. Kang’s costume selection for Singh colourfully draws the eye when Chaya first appears, as she steps up onto the large box.
Gabriella Sundar Singh is outstanding as Chaya. She commands the audience’s attention in this brave solo performance, allowing her eyes, face, and body to convey the internal emotional upheaval she continues to feel as she searches for her daughter, Krishna. Singh also plays the other characters Chaya encounters, pausing briefly before adopting a particular body stance that shapes her posture and speaking voice in that moment.
While the Passe Muraille press release calls Through the Eyes of God: a piercingly emotional and critical exploration of motherhood, survival, and how far one will go to protect a child (and that it does), there’s something else about this production that deserves attention.
The play becomes a vibrant reminder of the strength and resilience of motherhood.
I’m also reminded of the theme of survival from my undergraduate studies in Canadian literature and from reading Margaret Atwood’s anthology Survival. The text centres on the notion of survival as the central image of Canadian literature and its central character, the victim.
I’d certainly place Through the Eyes of God in this anthology. Canadian literature has come a very long way since Survival’s first publication, when only English and French literature were considered.
Through the Eyes of God: Recommended viewing.
Running time: approximately 60 minutes with no intermission.
The performance runs until February 21 in the Backspace at Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Avenue, Toronto. For tickets: https://www.passemuraille.ca/through-the-eyes-of-god/ or call 416-504-7529.
THEATRE PASSE MURAILLE presents
Through the Eyes of God by Anusree Roy
Directed by Thomas Morgan Jones
Lighting Designer: David DeGrow
Sound Designer: Romeo Candido
Set and Costume Designer: Jawon Kang
Stage Manager: Flávia F. Martin
Performer: Gabriella Sundar Singh
