The plays and performances in Buddies’ seasons are experimental, audacious, and unconventional. With Process Marginalia, we’re asking our season artists to tell us more about how they make their work, and the intertextual references and influences on the final product that you’ll see on stage.
Here, Zaiba Baig shares some of her key reference material and inspiration for writing her two plays, Kainchee Lagaa and Jhooti, which are on stage as a double bill from April 1 – 18, 2026. Read on for Zaiba’s words.
BOOKS + FILM THAT INSPIRED KAINCHEEE LAGAA AND JHOOTI
Kaun? (1999)
Urmila ate down in this role and her performance intensity haunted me for years… I saw it when I was probably too young. From what I remember, most of the film is just her being spooked in her own home (or maybe it’s not her own home?) and it’s eerie, unsettling and classic over-the-top Bollywood…
No One Knows Their Blood Type by Maya Al-Hayat
I love when writers tackle challenging subject matter — particularly dealing with vulnerable communities and their oppressions — in a flippant way. There’s a passage about the kind of porn the main character in this book watches that left my jaw on the floor, and it’s stayed there…
I’m A Fan by Sheena Patel
Really love a chaotic & obsessed & strategic brown girl!!! There’s lots of that kind of vibe particularly in the women in my two plays.
KAINCHEE LAGAA AND JHOOTI IN SONG
Helen titty-jiggling in a skimpy outfit in the 70s defined a particular kind of femininity for me — oozing and unafraid. There’s a playful darkness or almost vacancy in her eyes or something while she’s shaking ass which to me, is the marriage of extremes in performing femininity.
PERFORMANCES THAT SHAPED THE WORK
Tashnuva Anan and NaFis in the play Public Obscenities
I hadn’t laughed out loud in a theatre in a long time until I encountered these two trans women inhabiting their roles so naughtily and so freely in this stunning play. Tashnuva’s yearning in particular struck a very relatable chord. On the night I saw it, me and my doll friend were like literally the only people laughing at these performers’ comedic excellence. It’s a major feat to live so deeply in your brownness and transness in front of audiences who have no idea how to feel about you.