The artist and performer talks about their new show; exploring queerness, Indian culture, grief and hope
BY IZZIE JONES, IMAGE BY REETA LOI
From a VICE documentary exposing a gay arranged marriage scam, to TEDx talks and music; Reeta Loi has had a busy few years. Now, they’re touring The Remedy, a deeply personal show that combines and examines their intersecting identities. It explores these elements of their life; queerness, Indian culture, disownment and healing – to name a few. Accompanied by soundscapes that toy with traditional Bollywood soundtracks, The Remedy is a show told through poetry, song (taking its name from their 2022 single), comedy and storytelling. Reeta tells the story of the fifteen year period after being disowned by their family, following their decision to marry their same-sex partner.
Reeta says the show seeks to ask three things; How do we build intimacy and connection when we have experienced extreme loss? What does it take to heal personal and generational trauma? How do we live with abundance, in a culture that doesn’t want us (and especially us) to?
They tell me they were initially used to performing in queer spaces, and of their initial apprehension towards performing The Remedy to Asian audiences. They debuted an early version of the show at Bobby Friction’s Going South Festival, and later the DAYTIMERS Mehfil event series. It was a deeply healing experience, and were surprised at the number of Asian men that had approached them after the show to share how the show had affected them.
At that first Asian gig, it was almost like. I was able to heal by bringing all the parts of my identities, all of my identities together.
The Remedy digs deep into this concept of healing, and The Remedy has morphed since its initial conception; Reeta shares with me that they’ve recently reconcilled with family after 15 years of little to no contact.
Like a lot of people in my culture, I lost my family and I thereby lost my culture as well. I had to go on a real journey of trying to find my culture -Which I felt very rejected by for a really long time. So the show is actually about the journey of that last phone call, where I said to my dad ‘I’ll respect your decision and I won’t contact you. But in 15 years time, when we’re speaking again, you’re really gonna regret it, because we’re going to have lost out on all of this life together.’ On the eve of it becoming 16 years, I heard from him. And it’s been really amazing reconnecting with my family again.
This theme of reconnection and reconcillation plays into The Remedy, as Reeta navigates where they fit into a family unit they have been absent from for so long. They’re also working on a version of The Remedy they hope to one day perform to their family, as they learn to understand and create space for each other.
You can see The Remedy on 25th of March in Margate. You can find out about this, as well as other tour dates on their website.
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