In the solo performance Introducing Living Smile Vidya, the transgender actor Living Smile Vidya, aka Smiley, presents her story in a highly personal, irreverent and humorous way. Smiley always felt like a woman trapped in a man’s body, even as a child. She belongs to the lowest Indian caste, the Dalits, also known as “untouchables” and considered impure. Her solo piece tells of her childhood and the father who could not accept her transition, her begging for the operation, her struggle to find work as a Dalit-Transwoman and eventual escape to Switzerland, her time in processing centres and accommodation for asylum-seekers, and her attempts to make a name for herself as an artist in Switzerland and play a part in Swiss society. Introducing Living Smile Vidya premiered in September 2023 at the Treibstoff Theatertage Basel festival, which co-produced it. It was invited to the Swiss Theatre Encounter in Lugano in May 2024 as a guest performance on the Sélection programme and can also be seen in 2024 at the Impulse Theater Festival in Cologne and at Festival Les Rencontres à l’Échelle in Marseille.
Living Smile Vidya, is known simply as Smiley as an expression of her positivity, was born in India in 1982 and is an actress and trans activist. She has a Master’s degree in applied linguistics from the Tamil University in Thanjavur. In her home state in India, she was the first trans woman to succeed in having her name and gender changed on her passport, creating a legal precedent for transgender rights in India. Smiley then fought for the right to work, followed her passion for the theatre and became the first trans actress in India to appear in plays and films. Her autobiography I am Vidya, which has been translated into six languages and turned into a film, met with a very warm reception in India. Following attempts on her life due to her political statements and a meeting with the theatrical creators Marcel Schwald and Chris Leuenberger in India, she fled to Switzerland in 2018 to perform in their piece EF_FEMININITY. She also appeared in Lisa Gerig’s documentary The Hearing (2023), which won a Swiss Film Award. Smiley lives in Lucerne with refugee status N and has received permission to perform her solo at the request of the production office Das Theaterkolleg.
Where do you come from? How old are you? Are you married? How many kids do you have?
These questions that open “Introducing Living Smile Vidya” might appear simple on the surface, but they plunge us right into the complex issues of identity that are at the very heart of the entire work. Living Smile Vidya skilfully takes us by the hand with the same apparent simplicity to guide us on an intimate, personal journey that transcends physical, geographical and cultural divides. She does so through an artistic work that examines every aspect of our relationship to otherness with incisive realism and a sharp sense of irony.
Artistic direction and performance: Living Smile Vidya
Mentoring: Marcel Schwald
Artistic Support: Beatrice Fleischlin
Video/Animation: Moritz Flachsmann
Voice video: Suzì Feliz Das Neves
Technical direction: Thomas Kohler
Costumes: Diana Ammann
Sound: Silvan Koch
Production management: Mirjam Berger, Das Theaterkolleg
Subtitles: Anton Kuzema
Photos: Ralph Kühne, Ronja Burkard, Robin Junicke
Pro Helvetia
BLICKE Stadt Bern
Ruth und Paul Wallach Stiftung
SIS Schweizerische Interpretenstiftung
Burgergemeinde Bern
Migros Aare Bern
Talentförderung Kultur, Albert Koechlin Stiftung
Kulturförderfonds Region Seetal
Migros Kulturprozent Luzern
Strebi Stiftung
Stiftung Charlotte und Joseph Kopp-Maus
Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft der Stadt Luzern
