Give Them Vagina is the culmination of over a decade of work as a standup and storytelling starlet (You may have caught her at a local SpeakeasyDC performance), but, as you might expect, an incendiary title like this one has helped Nathan attract a whole new audience.

Washington City Paper: With a show title like Give Them Vagina, you’re bound to attract some odd attention online.

Vijai Nathan: I did have one stalker who proposed marriage. It was my first Facebook proposal and I have to say that I was tempted, because he said all the right things, “You’re so beautiful and so talented.” But he was desperately crazy to be with me, so that didn’t happen. I feel kind of famous now that I have a stalker.

WCP: What was the inspiration for the show?

VN: This is my third solo show and my previous shows talked a lot about growing up and childhood. This show is me right now being in my thirties, single, and trying to date. I’m finally at this age where I let it all hang out; I’m not as worried about what people think of me. I really wanted to write a show that was funny and didn’t necessarily show the best side of me, but was relatable.

WCP: What does your family make of the young woman that you’ve become?

VN: They have been along for this ride as much as I have. I started doing standup in 1997 and everyone thought I was a little crazy. I quit my job as a journalist at the Baltimore Sun and cancelled my engagement to become a standup comedian. I’d always been the responsible one in my family and done the right thing, because I’d seen how much my sisters fucked up. I went to a good school, had a good job, had a good fiancé, and was miserable, miserable, miserable. When I started doing standup, I felt like I had finally found what I was meant to do. When my parents first came to see me, I’d been doing it for a while and they were able to see how much the audience liked me. And they were like, “Oh, this is something she’s good at. And when an Indian parent sees that their child is good at something, then they’re like, ‘If you’re good at this, then you must become the best. You must get a masters in standup comedy.’ Which is something my dad actually wanted me to do. They don’t always understand my comedy, but they love that the audience love me. They’re very proud of me. My father always tells me that no one ever asks him what my sisters the lawyer and the doctor are doing, they ask him what the comedian is doing.

WCP: Is there any material you’ve ever not shared with your family?

VN: My first one woman show I was hesitant about, because I was transitioning from pure standup into long-form monologue. I did this story about losing my virginity, finding these porn magazines my father had, almost getting caught, and then lying about losing my virginity. I did this show ten years after all that happened and I was scared how they were going to react to me sharing my own secrets and our family secrets. I didn’t know if my dad was going to be thrilled that I was telling everyone that he had a stash of Playboy magazines and sex books. But after the show, I asked my father what he thought and he thought it was hilarious. He loved all the sex stuff! My mom then asked me what golden showers are. (laughs)

WCP: Do you think this show will shatter some Indian stereotypes, or give rise to some new ones?

VN: (laughs) The super slut? For me, I needed to write from the perspective of a single American woman in my thirties. There is that aspect that I am Indian–because that’s unavoidable–but I don’t think the show is focused on my background as much. I’m hoping to widen my audience, because I don’t want to be seen as a performer that’s only for South Asians. I want more whores at my shows, because South Asians just aren’t slutty enough.

WCP: Do the men you date worry about showing up in your material?

VN: I can only promise that it takes me a little while to process, so you won’t show up right away. Maybe because I’m a comedian I don’t get asked out a lot, because guys might be intimidated by that. All my stuff is based on everything that happens to me, so if you’re in my life, you will end up in my material.

WCP: Of all the shows at Fringe this year, why should people go see yours?

VN: (laughs) Because I will give them vagina!

Give Them Vagina: Tips from Mom, Dad & COSMO plays at various times and dates at Chief Ike’s Mambo Room, 1725 Columbia Rd., NW. $15. (202) 332-2211.

Lila: The Love Story of Radha and Krishna

Remaining performances:
Jul 25th 4:15 pm

They say: Attraction, flirtation, jealousy, passion. Follow the human Radha and the god Krishna as they bask in the joy and burn in the heat of their love. The emotional quality of their story is captured beautifully through Odissi Indian classical dance.

Llewellyn’s take: It was pouring rain outside the Apothecary.  People shuffled in, soaked from head to toe, sopping wet playbills in hand.  A veritable waterfall cascaded from the ceiling in the back of the house.  The stage manager quipped that they were just trying to set the ambiance by making it more monsoon-like.  She may have been joking, but the drenched, humid conditions were perfect for what was a beautiful, intricate, and all-around amazing performance.  I can’t imagine a better way to wait out a monsoon then to watch the graceful interplay of these gorgeous women; the slow, delicate contortions alternating with the staccato raga stepwork.  Shalini Goel Agarwal’s flirtatious, mesmerizing gaze itself is reason enough to see this show.   The captivating beauty in their dress and expressive personalities had me wishing for an even plusher production—what if there were more dancers, more tapestries, real waterfalls, and a live tabla-sitar orchestra?

Some may be scared off by the prospect of classical, interpretive Indian dance.  American interpretive dance can be confusing enough by itself.  Maybe you think that the cultural barrier could only serve to alienate the audience; instead, the infectious pageantry won’t fail to enchant.  I’m not sure I completely understood the meaning even when outlined by the narrator (I think the plot was something akin to Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me”), but it didn’t really matter.  You know that it’s a dance of jealousy and passion: Radha complains to Vishnu, Vishnu appeals to Radha, they embrace, they fight, they get back together, and it repeats.  Somewhere in there, a flute gets played.  Sure, you might miss some details in this love battle of the gods while transfixed by the polyrhythmic undulations of the dance.  There are shows swimming in meaning and importance, but this one is swimming in beauty and technical skill.

See it if: You like nice things.

Skip it if: You still can’t forgive Vishnu for how he treated Shiva.