Starring: Rinkoo Barpaga, Mathias André
Writer: Rinkoo Barpaga; Director: Tyrone Huggins
Unapologetic, bold and witty are the three words that spring to mind when describing ‘Made in (India) Britain’ – the one-person autobiographical play starring, and written by, British Indian multi-talent Rinkoo ‘Roo’ Barpaga.
The hour-long play – which has won Mervyn Stutter’s Spirit of the Fringe Awards 2022 as well as The Deaf Excellence Award, The Neurodiverse Review Awards – was performed in British Sign Language (BSL) by Barpaga with a live voiceover in spoken English at the beautiful ‘Home’ theatre in Manchester recently.
Hailing from a humble background and born to Punjabi parents in Birmingham, Barpaga narrates his life as a deaf child, his struggles with racism and his conflicts with finding his identity and where he truly belongs. Excelling at street and underwater photography among other things, Barpaga has also made an award-winning documentary called ‘Double Discrimination,’ wherein he interviewed young people; using urban sign language to describe race discrimination.
One of the most impressive things about the play was the effortless manner in which Barpaga combines his incredible comic timing with tear-jerking anecdotes – and indeed the way he manages to find humour in some of the darker moments of his life – to deliver a power-packed performance. Not only does he succeed in making the experiences of the deaf community relatable, but he also brings unwavering energy to the performance.
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Barpaga does not shy away from bringing up uncomfortable topics such as racism. Narrating an anecdote from his childhood, Barpaga recalls being referred to as a ‘Paki’ (a derogatory term used to describe people from Pakistani descent and sometimes generalised others of South Asian descent) and being threatened by aggression displayed by those who used it. In another incidence, Barpaga talks about the racism within the deaf community itself, fleshing out the complex realities of his experience as a British Indian.
Reminiscing about his visits to India, Barpaga delves deep into the identity crisis he faced after learning about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
“Indians shooting Indians under the order of the British?!” He exclaims, mimicking the shock, horror and confusion he had felt at the time of the discovery.
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The bold and fearless nature of Barpaga’s honesty is as refreshing as it is admirable. Perhaps what makes ‘Made in (India) Britain’ such an entertaining piece though is at no point does it feel preachy. Barpaga takes the approach of simply narrating his tale – whether it is remembering his first time using a hearing aid or growing up in the 80’s and being glued the television – and allowing the audience to take away from it what appeals to them best.
The play is produced by Deaf Explorer, producers who support Deaf artists, under-represented freelancers and organisations to be more inclusive and is currently touring the UK, with many more cities yet to cover in the coming days and weeks.
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If Barpaga and team are landing in your city, be sure to check out this gem of a play!
*Info: ‘Made in (India) Britain’ on tour
