Comedy in three acts brings hawkers' upselling skills to stage

Time of India

3 hours ago

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Pune: French writer-director Zazie Hayoun speaks of hawkers as if they are born performers.
"When I was a little girl in Le Marais,a neighbourhood in Paris, the hawkers in the market were like actors.
Their street calls were so melodious. They had a unique talent, they could upsell anything, and they were so jolly all the time.
For me, they were artists," said Hayoun. Her fascination with hawkers found its fullest expression in "Songs of Hawkers," a 60-minute English comedy that arrives in the city for a one-night performance on Wednesday, Aug 21, at IISER Pune. Presented by Alliance Française de Pune in collaboration with Alliance Française de Dhaka, the play uses music, puppetry, clowning, dance, and Grand Guignol tradition to reimagine the lives of street vendors.
Hayoun said, "I created the performance in Bangladesh, where Alliance Française gave me the facility to audition and work with actors. Earlier this week, we performed at the National School of Drama in Delhi, for an audience that ranged between 4-99 years old, and everybody thought it was an Indian production. The two countries (Bangladesh and India) are so related, with so much appreciation for Bollywood music."
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The play unfolds across three acts: The Secret, The Thief Rewarded, and The Competition. "The script is in broken English, Bengali, and Hindi. It is for everybody; children especially love the visual treat with all the dancing, acrobatics, clowning, and Bollywood music," she said.
For Hayoun, who first came to India in 1983, the work is also indicative of her personal relationship with the country she calls her second home.
"I wanted to learn everything about the country, its art, dance, theatre, and music. Thirty years on and off, I have been coming back. I had the idea long ago to make a performance with hawkers, showing how joyfully they carry out their business day in and day out. They are survivors, they make good money from small jobs, and I admire their 'jugaad'.
They're always exactly where we need them," she said.
The process took a year with auditions, workshops, improvisations, and recordings of real hawkers' voices for the show.
"I wrote three stories, auditioned actors in Dhaka. Then I went back to Paris to develop the script and returned after a couple of months to get the show together. We kept the same set of actors. I am already thinking of making another performance with them," said Hayoun.
After its staging in the city, the production will travel back to Bangladesh for shows in Dhaka and Chittagong, before heading to Paris next year. "After our Delhi show, a man from the audience asked me how I know so much about Indian culture," she recalled. "It is the same, I said. Bangladesh, India, and France, we connect through theatre," said Hayoun.
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