“It started with a memory: my own period party"
Period Parrrty is a play that asks what happens when a ritual meant to mark womanhood is reimagined for gender, identity, and community.
For Tamil writer and performer Gayathiri Kamalakanthan, that question became the spark for their play.
The story follows non-binary teenager Krish, who navigates their mother’s insistence on a traditional Tamil period party while dreaming of a celebration that honours autonomy, chosen family, and queer joy.
Drawing on their own experiences and Tamil heritage, Gayathiri transforms a familiar rite of passage into a vibrant exploration of first love, identity, and belonging.
Period Parrrty is not only a funny, heartfelt play but also a reclamation of ritual, culture, and history.
In an exclusive interview with DESIblitz, Gayathiri Kamalakanthan opens up about the inspiration, challenges, and heart behind their work.
A Celebration Reimagined
For writer and performer Gayathiri Kamalakanthan, Period Parrrty began with a vivid memory, their own Tamil puberty ritual.
Gayathiri explains: “It started with a memory: my own period party, a Tamil puberty ritual, when I was around 11.
“It was joyous, full of love and community.”
But as Gayathiri grew older and began exploring their genderqueerness, they started to question how that ritual, so tied to womanhood, cisness, and motherhood, fit into their evolving identity.
A friend’s question, “What would it look like to queer a period party?”, became the spark that changed everything.
Gayathiri continues: “With the backdrop of Tamil history, genocide, migration, survival, I felt there was room for a story where puberty, Tamilness and transness could meet.
“Period Parrrty grew from my desire to write the kind of ritual I’d want to have, one where Tamilness and transness belong together.”
Breaking Binaries, Honouring Roots
In Period Parrrty, Gayathiri Kamalakanthan reframes tradition.
“By de-gendering it”, they said when asked how they reimagined the ritual for queerness.
Gayathiri says: “In the play, Krish, the lead, is non-binary.
“Instead of reinforcing ‘womanhood’ as the destination, the party becomes a celebration of autonomy, chosen family, and a future that explodes gender binaries.”
The play also highlights how colonialism shaped ideas of queerness.
“Krish also learns that anti-queerness was a colonial import, that the British imposed laws in 1833, making queerness a crime.”
“In a queered period party, there’s room for questions about bleeding and pain and care, for gender-expansive expression, for Tamil food, music, and community.
“Not to erase tradition, but to return to our queer roots.”
Through this decolonial lens, Period Parrrty invites audiences to see Tamil rituals not as rigid or exclusionary, but as living, evolving spaces of belonging.
Tamilness, Family, and the Desire to Be Seen
The play centres on Krish, a 15-year-old non-binary teen navigating family expectations and self-discovery.
Gayathiri elaborates: “Krish is 15, non-binary, and being thrown a party traditionally meant to announce ‘you are now a woman’.
“Their family has expectations: femininity, future marriage to a man, conformity.”
Krish’s pushback against these expectations becomes the emotional core of the play.
“The heart of the play is the tension between Krish and their mother, wanting to make each other happy and proud, but also needing to be seen.
“There are no villains here, only people trying to love better.”
In some aspects, Krish’s story mirrors Gayathiri’s, as they reveal:
“But some moments, awkward teenage feelings, the desire to reclaim tradition, the rom-com energy, are drawn from my life and friends’ experiences.”
Their connection to Tamilness is central.
“Because I love being Tamil. Our language, food, music, literature, there’s so much richness.
“In the shadow of a 50-year systemic attempt by the Sri Lankan government to erase Tamil identity, preserving and evolving our culture feels vital.”
Yet they’re clear that Tamil stories deserve more than trauma narratives.
“Tamil stories deserve space for joy, romance, and comedy, not just trauma.”
Setting the story at a period party allowed them to bring together love, curiosity, and identity in one space.
Reclaiming Power and Building Community
Period Parrrty doesn’t shy away from confronting patriarchy, but it does so through empathy and humour rather than confrontation alone.
Gayathiri says: “By asking: what are we really expecting of young people, especially those who have periods? Silence? Marriage? Obedience?
“By centring a character like Krish, who doesn’t conform, Period Parrrty interrogates how power can be reclaimed.”
On the play’s wider message, Gayathiri is optimistic:
“In terms of pushback, there’s a long line of work that confronts the patriarchy.
“I want my work to be in conversations with authors like Akwaeke Emezi, Meena Kandasamy, and Priya Guns, artists who challenge and expand cultural narratives.
“And I’ve felt really supported by Kali Theatre, Soho Theatre, and my wider creative community in telling this story.”
Gayathiri’s experience as a sex and relationships educator also shaped their approach to storytelling:
“It’s not just South Asian culture; there’s still so much shame around bodies in general.”
“We rarely talk openly about periods – the texture, and amount of blood, the pain.
“I used to facilitate sex and relationships education in schools, and those conversations around touch, consent, gender, and sexuality need to be safe, affirming, and shame-free.”
Ultimately, Period Parrrty isn’t just a play; it’s an act of reclamation.
Gayathiri hopes: “I want people, especially trans and queer South Asians, to feel seen and empowered.
“Feeling that how we live in community can be expansive, rather than fixed. Rituals don’t have to exclude.”
For them, it’s about collective imagination.
Gayathiri adds: “We can build families and traditions that make space for our whole selves.
“And for everyone, queer or not, there’s something universal here: that deep human longing to belong.
“Period Parrrty is an invitation to show up with your truths, your questions, your silliness, and imagine a freer future together.”
Period Parrrty invites audiences to imagine traditions that include rather than exclude, offering both humour and emotional truth as Krish and their friends challenge expectations and reclaim joy.
Gayathiri Kamalakanthan’s work blends Tamil heritage with queer identity, creating a story that is both specific and universally resonant.
With a talented cast including Elizabeth Green, Rani Moorthy, and Tanvi Virmani, and the visionary direction of Gitika Buttoo, the play promises a theatrical experience full of warmth, laughter, and reflection.
Originally developed through Soho Labs and Kali Theatre’s Discovery Programme, it has already captured audiences with its unique voice and bold storytelling.
Period Parrrty runs at Soho Theatre from October 23 to November 22, 2025, inviting viewers to celebrate ritual, identity, and community in an unforgettable way.
Loading ...