Review: HOUSE OF JOY at Loretto-Hilton Center For The Performing Arts

The Rep's 56th season begins with Madhuri Shekar's genre-bending House of Joy. Equal parts drama, fantasy, combat epic, and dystopian sci-fi, the play is not easy to pin down.

Filled with strong characters, thrilling fight scenes, tender moments of happiness, and wrenching moments of sorrow, it tells the tale of a bedazzling utopia, whose opulence masks a world of manipulation and guile.

Set in a harem in India, this fast-paced production opens with Roshni, a girl from the rougher part of the kingdom being recruited as a special guard for the emperor's harem. It is a prestigious opportunity that simply cannot pass up.

While spending grueling days training and dull evenings standing watch, she befriends Hamida, another guard looking to make her mark. Their friendship grows and eventually leads her to fill Roshni in on the fate of her predecessor.

As Roshni spends more time as a guard, she realizes that the empire's façade as a peaceful realm is more of a prison than paradise. For starters, the walls of the House of Joy present a confined space for that inside. As a result, only those in power enjoy personal freedom.

Featuring an Emperor that is never seen and an estate that is literally shaped by those who live within it, the House of Joy is filed with some serious plotting. Especially the scheming Noorah, the Emperor's daughter whose designs on power threaten the stability of the land. Unrelenting to quench her thirst for power her behind-the-scenes maneuvering postures her to seize control in a violent coup.

If political skullduggery was not enough, Roshni has to contend with her attraction toMariyam, the Emperor's wife. Waiting to give birth to an heir, her fate hangs in the balance as her husband eagerly awaits the arrival of a son. As the political tension rises, Roshni, Mariyam, and Hamida face tough decisions that determine both their fates and the very freedom of the empire.

Directed by Lavina Jadhwani with stunning projections from Stefania Bulbarella, House of Joy presents a contemporary depiction of women as a force for change who speak the truth to power and remain unbridled by conventional tropes or stereotypes. The women here, fight, protect, scheme, give birth, and lust with unrelenting vigor, providing audiences with doses of action and intrigue.

The terrific ensemble is driven by a powerful debut performance from Tina Munoz Pandya as Roshni. Authoritative and vulnerable, she is electrifying as a woman coming to rems with herself and the world around her. Also terrific is Omer Abbas Salem as Salima, a clever eunuch who is acutely aware of everything happening with the walls of the House of Joy.

Visually stunning and brimming with romance, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' House of Joy is a compelling production that pulls no punches in emphasizing the dangers of authoritarianism and the power of love in tempestuous times.

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