Gayathiri Kamalakanthan’s play, Period Parrrty, comes to Soho Theatre in a co-production with Kali Theatre.
It looks at the Tamil customs and rituals around female puberty, while Krish (Elizabeth Green) struggles with revealing their non-binary identity. In this “queer Tamil romcom”, love is the main focus.
Between Krish, their best friend Brenavee (Tanvi Virmani), and mother Brintha (Rani Moorthy), a story unfolds of forced migration, queer erasure, and gender dysphoria.
Katie Scott has designed a set that is successively a school toilet and various bedrooms. Aside from the three-strong cast, recordings are used to bring other characters into the story.
The Period Parrrty tradition of preparing the young woman for marriage – without any talk of the physical aspects of menstruation – is anethma to Krish.
Mum clings to the traditions wiped out during the protacted genocide in Sri Lanka, without seeing or understanding the effect on her daughter.
That traditions eventually bring them together in a way that feels right and reasonable makes Kamalakanthan’s play an honest and open discussion of difference and confidence.
Using the Jaffna Tamil dialect at times, translated in the play text and not on stage, Period Parrrty grasps the idea that language need not be a barrier to understanding and acceptance.
The performers are all excellent, with Elizabeth Green offering a cautious and committed reading of the Tamil teenager who will “never be a girl”. Tanvi Virmani’s B feels more assured, but she has her own struggles under her bravado.
Rani Moorthy’s mother is full of strength and suppressed hurt. She hasn’t been allowed to ‘be’ but can’t comprehend a path beyond rigid protocols and cultural norms.
Period Parrrty is sharp and funny, but also tender, sweet and bold in tackling a topic rarely seen on stage before in which transgender and lived experience come together with affection.
4 stars.
Period Parrrty, directed by Gitika Buttoo, is at Soho Theatre Upstairs until 22 Nov 2025 with tickets here.
Image credit: Ikin Yum