Hijra

Dominic Rai speaks to Ash Kotak about the play.

A meeting with the writer, Ash Kotak, by Dominic Rai

I interviewed Ash Kotak, whose first play Hijra is a romantic comedy involving several previously taboo subjects.

Hijra takes a comic look at the traditional and secretive world of Indian transvestites who are said to grant wishes and cast spells.

It features Nils, a young British Asian who shuns his mother’s marriage plans for himself, and instead takes up with a young man, Raj, from Bombay.

The play is running from Saturday February 9 to Saturday March 9 at the Courtyard Theatre at the prestigious West Yorkshire Playhouse. Actors include Harmage Singh Kalirai as the chief Hijra, Guy Rhys as Nils and Rez Kempton, who plays a variety of different roles. Harvey Virdi and Mala Ghedia are also appearing. Nils' mother is played by Josephine Welcome.

Ash said the inspiration behind the play was to cover the contentious subject of homosexuality in the Asian community as a comedy.

He said: ‘It’s a feel-good, all’s-well-that-end’s-well type of play. I am dealing with subject matter that might be a bit challenging for some audiences but by having it as a romantic comedy I hope people will laugh and go with it.’

‘While homosexuality is legal in Britain, it is still illegal in India under the old British laws. In the British Asian community, it is like going back to Victorian Britain. It is just that the subject is not discussed and is seen as a white man’s problem. A lot of gay Asian people do not come out.’

Ash said he discovered the existence of the hijras during visits to India, where he has travelled very widely. He found the whole subject intriguing. He added: ‘The hijras are around all the time, they are seen everywhere including at weddings but everyone else just ignores them.’

He started writing after studying at the London International Film School. He has also directed a drama, Divided by Rape, for Channel 4. Hijra was first performed last year at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, and at the Bush Theatre, Shepherd’s Bush, London.

He said: ‘Being involved in the new production of Hijra is terribly exciting. Hopefully the play will come back to London.’

Ash has dedicated the script of Hijra to his dramaturg David Prescott. He added: ‘He allowed me to see what could and could not be done and forced me to think what I really wanted to write.’

Now aged 36, Ash was born in North London, the son of an Indian father and an East African Indian mother. He used to visit India every year in his childhood. He said: ‘When I was a child I always felt I should feel at home in India but as I grew older I realised it was not my true home, which is Britain.’

He is currently working on two commissions. He has written the first draft of a commission for the Royal National Theatre on the philosopher Krishnamurti and is working on a new play about the power of women for the Theatre Royal, Plymouth.