Chasing Hares: A Love Letter to Dreamers Fighting for Equality
Irfan Shamji in Chasing Hares at Young Vic (c) Akhila Krishnan. Design by Moi Tran, Lighting Design by Jai Morjaria & Video Design by Akhila Krishnan
On opening night of Chasing Hares a full house was in for an evening of time travelling across the UK and India. Writer Sonali Bhattacharyya, 2021 Winner of the Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award, dramatised comparisons between workers in contemporary Britain and India in the early 2000s. In conversation, she unravels the inspiration behind Chasing Hares and pulls together threads from both her ‘personal and family experience of work precarity and political and cultural resistance in West Bengal.’
In a bold weaving of traditional Indian folk tale and immersive storytelling, Bhattacharyya highlights the timely gig economy injustice and the complicated dynamics between those on the ground, typically in the Global South, who join the picket line in need of money to provide for their families, and often women and young children, who are exploited in unfair and unsustainable working conditions.
Scott Karim and Irfan Shamji in Chasing Hares at Young Vic (c) Isha Shah. Design by Moi Tran, Lighting Design by Jai Morjaria & Video Design by Akhila Krishnan
The crux of the plot draws light to the underworld of the fashion industry, and brings to mind the tragedy of the collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013, a building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The building housed five garment factories, killing at least 1,132 people and injuring more than 2,500. It is considered the worst industrial incident to hit the garment industry. This catastrophe woke the world to shocking labour conditions, unfair pay and the unsafe environment that garment workers are exposed to day to day.
Ayesha Dharker in Chasing Hares at Young Vic (c) Isha Shah. Design by Moi Tran, Lighting Design by Jai Morjaria & Video Design by Akhila Krishnan
Similarly, in Chasing Hares, the Khub Bhalo factory runs on unjust working conditions and child exploitation. Prab (Ifran Shamji), a hopeful writer and father, is invited to write a play for the factory owner’s son, Davesh (Scott Karim), and his failing Jatra folk theatre troupe. Prab seizes the opportunity to dramatise a revolutionary tale in the guise of an animal fable, whilst stirring up community and their hunger for change. Devesh buys Prab’s silence by promoting him as supervisor and gives him and his family a luxury apartment (whilst dismissing him and his family as and when he pleases, to use the duplex with his mistress). The play reaches a climax when comfort and conscience collide - a young child worker loses an arm, and Prab is presented with an opportunity to expose the factory’s illegal conditions.
Irfan Shamji in Chasing Hares at Young Vic (c) Isha Shah. Design by Moi Tran, Lighting Design by Jai Morjaria & Video Design by Akhila Krishnan
The Young Vic’s amphitheatre grounds the play, as Moi Tran’s revolving platform enhances Bhattacharyya’s pacey dialogue. The set of concrete walls provides an apt background for shadow play, as elements of nature are projected throughout. We are briskly taken on a journey through time, as we are transported across the globe to 2000s Kolkata. The space transforms into an outdoor scene indicative of Bengali Folk Theatre, as wired microphones hang from above. The audience becomes active participants, as we are directly addressed: ‘Are you a worthy audience?’ In this moment, the heart of community organisation is actively brought to life, stirring up a revolutionary spirit. As things literally heat up in a factory fire, confetti falls in a colourful explosion, as tension is released for us onlookers. The beauty of fashion falls to reveal the tragic undertones of social inequality.
Scott Karim and Saroja-Lily Ratnavel in Chasing Hares at Young Vic. Design by Moi Tran, Lighting Design by Jai Morjaria & Video Design by Akhila Krishnan
In a tension between fire and shadow, in Bhattacharyya’s own words: ‘This play is a love letter to all the organisers and all the activists and all the dreamers…’ Prab’s daughter, Amba (Saroja-Lily Ratnavel) inherits his vision and desire for change, as we too leave the theatre more sensitive to worker conditions closer to home.
Chasing Hares is showing until August 13th at the Young Vic. Get your tickets here.
