Body Blows

Out of Print

The women playwrights in this volume focus on the various kinds of violence and abuse that women face, one of the most important and difficult issues of our society. In Lights Out by Manjula Padmanabhan, the daily mystery of heart-rending screams from a woman in obvious pain destroys the fabric of domesticity of a middle-class couple, divided in their response to her anguish. Getting Away with Murder follow three friends through their private hells as they deal with childhood sexual abuse, infidelity and insecure relationships, to emerge as stronger women at the end of it. Mangalam shows how abuse and violence span the generations, remaining a constant even though society moves towards ‘modernity’.