It’s tough to get through school, no matter where it is or who your classmates are.
Moxie Theatre, ever in search of the new, offers the local premiere of a Hindu take on the school experience with playwright Aditi Brennan Kapil’s “The Chronicles of Kalki,” playing through July 4.
Hindus? You mean with gurus, karma, endless creation and dissolution cycles and all that stuff? Yep, and this version offers three very different female characters to tell the story to a cop (played by Javier Guerrero) who keeps asking questions.
Two high school-age friends, anonymously named Girl 1 (played by Kailey Agpaoa) and Girl 2 (played by Mikaela Macias), seem relatively “normal,” whatever that may mean in this environment, tiptoeing up to adulthood and the new experiences that may bring.
But they are both fascinated and confused by Kalki, a whirlwind of a character not constrained by school who evidences a devil-may-care attitude about life that fascinates the girls.
Kalki, it seems, represents the Hindu character Vishnu the Sustainer, though doesn’t seem interested in sustaining anything except power.
The numbered girls are frequently interrogated by the cop, who hopes they will tell him more about Kalki (played by Farah Dinga), who seems threatened by Kalki. Or maybe he’s just trying to figure her out too.
It’s impossible to describe this piece adequately, but don’t let that bother you. The acting is fine all around. Just go, enjoy what you see, and try to figure it out later.
“Kalki” is important for one other reason, too: this play marks the turnover of Moxie Theatre’s leadership from the original group that included Delicia Turner Sonnenberg and Jennifer Eve Thorn to Moxie’s new artistic director, Desirée Clarke Miller. Miller directs this piece.
It’s a new day and hopes are high that the new leadership will live up to the years of wonderful theater we’ve come to expect.
The details
“The Chronicles of Kalki” plays through June 4, 2023 at Moxie Theatre, 6663 El Cajon Blvd.
Shows Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.
Box office: (858) 598-7620
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