A proud graduate of Montreal’s National Theatre School with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, English, and South Asian Languages (anitamajumdar.com), Anita Majumdar is doing something very important for young people, and I highly respect her intentions.
In 2017, she presented her one-person show, Boys With Cars, at Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre. Written, choreographed and performed by herself, with direction by Brian Quirt, the play received the Dora Award for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Performance. It explores the often confusing world of teenage friendships and romantic relationships, as described on the YPT website. Quirt returns again to direct the show.
The story involves Naz (Majumdar) who navigates the chaotic environment of her suburban school. It is a place where cultural clashes occur, and fitting in can come at a serious cost. Majumdar embodies multiple characters, reflecting the experiences of a South Asian girl trying to fit into a predominantly white school in Port Moody, British Columbia.
Boys With Cars captures the language used by young people — it’s raw, gritty, and sometimes vulgar. But it’s authentic. There is an audience advisory for the production.
How does Majumdar feel about trigger warnings and advisories:
“I understand why they’re there, especially with theatre for young audiences. Teachers, educators, and parents have to do their part in preparing students and young people. Trigger warnings and advisories are new territory for me.”
She then shared some very important context to keep in mind for the upcoming production.
The history of Cars is strange, something Majumdar describes as serendipitous. It premiered at The Great Canadian Theatre Company. During its initial run, Jian Ghomeshi was outed, and thirty women came forward across the country. Anita says it became so present for her. The second presentation of Cars at YPT in 2017, Harvey Weinstein was outed for his abuse of power and how he used it for decades.
Majumdar adds:
“It’s interesting that ‘Cars’ has returned as we’re now talking about the Epstein files. We’re now in conversation about what actually is a child, or they weren’t really children, they’re just young women.”
The first draft of the solo piece was written in 2012. It’s now 2026, and the world still struggles with the troubling idea that it’s acceptable to say these young women consented. Majumdar feels a deeper awareness due to the production history of Cars. These unsettling issues have persisted alongside the performances of the show, as well as the ongoing conversations sparked outside of the theatre:
“Offering just the minimum feels inappropriate because the subject matter of ‘Cars’ is so charged, and the atmosphere is very kinetic. If you’re not already in the right headspace given the current state of the world, at least the artists and the theatre respect your right to choose how you make your choice in whether to attend or not. Artists and the theatre should not be pushing audience members into a darker mental state because of their past or fatigue from trauma.”
Anita prefers to be cautious about where students and young people stand in their own journey. The same applies to the general public. While she is aware that there were no advisories years ago, audiences attended plays despite their unsettling moments, and things may have been fine. Just because something was done a certain way in the past does not mean that it is the best way to do things going forward.
Majumdar understands and gets that there are many who want to dig deep into the play’s subject matter; however, she doesn’t want to catch audiences off guard. It’s important to ensure everyone’s safety remains a priority. Know as much as possible before entering a space where one doesn’t feel safe or protected.
I appreciate Majumdar’s honesty about the adult, sometimes challenging nature of her solo work. I still want to see what it’s about. I’m planning to attend a school matinee to write about the experience of watching both the production and the young people’s responses. Anita says she’s also curious as to how they will respond this time around.
How does she feel about receiving the Dora Award for Cars?
As a young actor, when she first came to Toronto, it felt like the carrot being dangled in front of her: “Once you’ve got a Dora and beyond the nomination, you’ve met some kind of invisible inauguration of value and visibility.”
It was a peculiar experience to win the Dora because it meant a lot to the twenty-something-year-old Anita. It was most interesting to the people surrounding the performer, who helped her hone her craft, admirers of Cars, or friends and family.
The Dora mattered not at all to those around Majumdar. Yes, these individuals still take pride in Anita and her work as an artist. They simply assumed that Anita also understood the excellence of the work all along. For Anita, wearing the honour of winning a Dora was a certain way of thinking about herself. What she gleaned from this entire experience – it’s great to see Cars acknowledged, but it doesn’t affect the work, because the work was the way it was before the Doras. It’s going to remain the same after the Doras.
With the upcoming YPT performance, many questions arise for her. Can she rise to the occasion? Can she handle the demands of the show as easily as 2017 Anita did, when her body and spirit were primed for a solo performance?
Still, Anita’s deep love for Cars surpasses any award and keeps her focused on the production. As time passes for all of us, including herself, she reflects:
“The sheer joy of having a body that can still accommodate all of the musculature that the show requires. I felt excited but curious as to what accommodations need to be made now since I’m in a body that’s ten years older.”
While she suffers from Long Covid that comes in and out (she got the original batch of the virus pre-vaccine), this has shifted her health in a significant way that she’s not used to as a person who was athletic in the work she creates.
But she’s looking forward to the upcoming production because the students will tell it like it is. For her, as an artist, that’s extremely important.
What’s next for Anita once Boys With Cars concludes its run at Young People’s Theatre?
She’s not sure she’s allowed to talk about her next project yet, as it hasn’t been announced. After Cars closes, she will begin preparing her new solo show. It isn’t the premiere, but it is the shortened version. It will be done in a Canadian city sometime in the summer. She’s been working on it for quite some time.
This new solo piece will offer an interesting juxtaposition. She compares it to riding a new bike: “a little wobbly but clear sailing.”
Boys With Cars runs April 13-24 at Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre. Two performances are for the public while the rest are school matinees. To inquire about tickets for the public performances and/or student matinees, visit youngpeoplestheatre.org or call (416) 862-2222.
