Every Moment Felt Uncomfortably Real.
Haritha Menon’s mono act at Mood Indigo 2017 takes on an incredibly heavy subject, and treats it with the kind of vulnerability that still gives us goosebumps.
The performance blends confusion with innocence, trying to make sense of something terrifying and deeply wrong. The childlike perspective makes so many moments land even harder because there’s a constant contrast between the simplicity of the narration and the emotional weight underneath it.
The act keeps moving forward with this almost relentless emotional momentum, each section flowing into the next.
And the way the opening and closing tie together is genuinely brilliant.
The performance begins with a certain innocence in the storytelling, but by the end, those same emotions and ideas return carrying something much heavier. That full-circle structure leaves a strong impact because you realise how much the emotional meaning of everything has changed through the journey of the act.
What also makes the performance so gripping is that Haritha never shies away from the uglier emotional realities attached to abuse. The fear that lingers. The helplessness. The emotional scars that can never be undone. She allows all of it to exist fully in the performance, which is why the audience stays so intensely engaged throughout.
