Positively Shameless grew out of a 12-week Drama Therapy Process that was a therapeutic intervention for adult survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). The project was born out of Maitri Gopalakrishna’s PhD study at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) where she saw an opportunity to push the boundaries of her work towards theatre and performance, as well as social critique.  

The process began with a call for participants for a drama therapy group for adult women who had experienced childhood sexual abuse. Through the process the participants discovered that many of the traumas left behind were a direct result of troubling socio-political realities. It made sense therefore, to take this work outside the private space of therapy to the public space of the theatre. The hope and endeavour of the group is that both the process and the result can offer a strong bridge between artistic, therapeutic, and social engagement processes. This project is directed by Maitri Gopalakrishna and Shabari Rao.