Stockings

{collaborate2} The title is owed to "You gotta have balls" by lilly brett and her hilarious description of the mis-named storekeeping role taken in the office by her immigrant grandfather. I am using it here for it's other place hanging over the mantle-piece in wait of winter presents. The extended title might be 'Stockings & Sandals: Christmas in New Deli' as I am writing a tolerance piece about the absurdity of christmas symbolism in hot multicultural climates. I hope to exploit the habit of amateur (community) theatres of holding a large cast christmas musical. The word 'Deli' of course is a pun on the australian vernacular for delicatessen or corner shop (UK) or drugstore (Canada)

There are a number of highly suitable creative commons licensed songs with downloadable stems which, with a little enginuity can be remixed into backing tracks for actors to sing along with. This feature obviates the need for a band. Community theatre audiences differ wildly in their enthusiasm for new music, some would prefer to confer their patronage on music they already know, which enhanced the pleasure. Some audiences are heckling in their enthusiasm, if supplied with a copy of the lyrics, can be encouraged to join the chorus.

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The story revolves around an indian shopkeeper who has chosen to keep his business open despite the encroaching yuletide season. A competitor starts a petition to have his decision apolitically and neutrally dumped. In the story it emerges that he is not hindu, in fact he is not even indian but has allowed this impression to smoothe his path through the crackling prejudice which underlies his neighbourhood. He wants to be like 'Apu from the simpsons' and has encourages people to form their own mistake along thsese lines. The object is not to make emmigrant indians any more uncomfortable, but to exploit the new stereotype to expose our universal cycloptic vision.

One reason for this play is a gentle ribbing about the complexity of religious dichotomy. I am borrowing a motif from "The life of Pi" by Yann Martel in which he explores the possibility that one adherent can belong to several denominations, or even entire religions, at the same time. Can you be almost a muslim' or virtually christian' or 'Jew-ish' either consistently or depending on context such as the time of day? The monoliths of belief may prefer that version but I want to play with how it works in the real life of a typical suburb. I may find a way to explore the same flexibilty in those claiming rationality or capitalism.