Q&A with Sudhir Selvaraj | We All Live In Bhopal

This Sunday, February 28th, Renegade Arts and Theatre Society is putting on it's 15th production of our self-scripted play 'We All Live In Bhopal'.

We sat down with the playwright Sudhir Selvaraj to understand some of the background of the play and his motivations with writing it.

---

Sudhir Selvaraj, Playwright, 'We All Live in Bhopal'

What motivated you to write this play?

I spent 8 days in Bhopal in 2011. I would consider myself relatively well-informed but when I was in Bhopal I realized how little I knew  and  unfortunately how comfortable I was not knowing. The longer I spent speaking with victims and activists, the more I felt uncomfortable. I returned home and kept reading not thinking anything would come of it. My research finally made me see intersections and connections within the tragedy and I knew I wanted to tell the story of Bhopal in a more compelling  way than before. Hence, the play is very much written as a tale of my process. It tells the story of what I thought were the five most pivotal moments of the struggle and I even designed the narrator character to spur the audience to ask the questions I asked myself.

Why did you think it was an important story to tell?

I am drawn to conflicts. And no story better represents this. It is a very delicate story, deep and intersecting. I could spend a day and not fully explain the situation which is why I intentionally made the characters real people - activists, survivors, CEOs. I have curated and compiled the things they have said on numerous forums. In that sense this play is a work of oral history and giving voice to individuals who might not have any - creating an alternate narrative.

How did you go about obtaining accurate information while writing it?

The play mainly consisted of interviews and sessions with activists and survivors. I have been trained in research  and learned how to discern my sources. I tried to be balanced and that's why I added the perspective of two CEOs. And this information is freely available and accessible to the public. The thrust of the play is to present the story and allow the audience to decide for themselves which position / side they are on.

What exactly do you want the audience to feel/think while experiencing it?

I would really want to allow people to know more about what happened. And this is not  just a text book understanding of what happened but a deeper sense through sights and sounds of what people went through. I want them to know the stories beyond the headlines. Essentially, I want the audience to feel something. Anything really - whether that manifests as sadness, helplessness, anger, frustration, whatever.

Has the play had its intended effect? Are there any misconceptions you want to correct?

I am proud of the fact that we have had full houses every time we have done the play, with stimulating discussions following each performance. Actors and audiences have become advocates and spokespersons not only for the project but for the people of Bhopal as well.The script has proven as versatile as I had
hoped, for being performed for audiences in the UK, US and in India.

---

'We All Live in Bhopal' will be this Sunday, Feb 28th, at The Humming Tree, Bangalore. Click here to RSVP and get tickets.

The Renegade Arts and Theatre Society is also raising funds to aid The Chingari Trust; please visit our funding campaign to learn more.

William De Oliveira - Experiences from 'Bhopal'

I went to school in India. Goa was my home till the age of 12 until we moved to the UK. However, I did not know about Bhopal then because nobody spoke of the disaster. It was at an  A-Level sociology class in London that I first heard about the disaster. It is not a surprise that Bhopal was mentioned during a discussion on Marxism, the woes of capitalism and profit driven corporations. In any case, it seemed that the disaster had more of an impact over here than it did in my Indian home-state.

Apart from the hour-long A-Level class, I had never thought about Bhopal. I learnt then that something leaked somewhere and scores of people died, but I did not know about the consequences suffered by those affected, even to this day. Taking part in this play opened my eyes to injustice; it opened my eyes to the impunity of corporations and disregard for those who must suffer through no fault of their own. The play also got me thinking about the nature of activism today. Standing on stage as Andrew Liveris, I began to get an insight into the other side of the fence: the side where those in power sit, the side that activists point their fingers to.

In the play, my character - Liveris, was confronted on stage by what I perceived to be a “misinformed” Sarah who couldn't understand that Dow was not involved with Union Carbide at the time of the crisis. Sometimes, people in power are just that: people in power. Their status does not make them guilty by default.

It got me thinking, would I buy something that was involved in the killing of thousands? The answer would probably depend on the circumstance. And if my answer was yes, that should not make me guilty too. I would expect to be judged on how the new acquisition works under my ownership. Hence, I can see why the CEO of Dow would see Sarah as a nuisance.

Having said that, I do still believe in taking responsibility even if not directly guilty. Maybe, activists should relent from pointing the finger and concentrate on convincing Dow to be their partners in delivering justice to those who were wronged.

Jon Heggestad - Experiences from 'Bhopal'

When I met Sudhir Selvaraj in the fall of 2013, we were both studying in London and were surprised to discover several mutual connections relating to Minnesota- the state where I had been born and raised and where he had done his undergraduate studies. It was only a month or two later that Sudhir told me about his play, We All Live in Bhopal, and asked if I would be willing to participate in a reading of it.

At our first read-through the script, I joked that I had been typecast for my role as the American, Michael Parker. This was funny today to me at the time, and I made a few remarks about wanting to play the part of someone else, like Champadevi Shukla. Through being involved in the production, however, I realized how little I actually knew about the Bhopal incident, becoming uncomfortably aware of the rather ugly irony in my playing the part of this American.

To some degree, I think that it's impossible to escape the stereotype that as an American, ethnocentrism will attribute to one of my many flaws. My country is large and riddled with problems, and it's often hard to see whats happening outside of our borders, even when it's so intrinsically tied to us. I'm not writing this down as an excuse or in hopes of being pardoned for my ignorance, but only as a means to highlight the importance of projects like the one Sudhir has chosen to tackle. This sort of education is exactly the answer to the apparent indifference shown by so many like me. Through this creative production, he's aimed and achieved a literal stage by which he has captured a moment in history that ought not to be forgotten, even when (especially when) large players are actively trying to "move on" from it. More than remembering, he has actively informed many like me, and succeeded in igniting an appeal to justice and human rights. For that, I'm not only thankful for this production, but for being able to work with Sudhir - a man who is aware of his gifts and of how he can best use them.

My experience taking part in We All Live in Bhopal was informative on so many levels, and hearing the updates from Sudhir as he continues to produce his play around the globe is truly inspiring.

Manu Varkey - Experiences from 'Bhopal'

As a young person, only 25 years old, I have heard accounts of many life changing events that played out before I was born. From old magazines, conversations with my elders and the Internet I have read about and vaguely pieced together a history shaped by these events. From hijackings to sport victories, assassinations to revolutions the ramifications of many of these events are still felt to this day. There is one picture however, that is seared into my brain, a photo that I happened to chance upon many years ago while rummaging through my Father's collection of newspaper clippings. A photo that still gives me the chills when I think about it, of an infant half buried in the earth, his eyes dead blue and staring out into the world that he was cheated out of, his lips parted and frozen by the rigor of death. "Bhopal", they said when I asked. "That was the Bhopal gas tragedy".

Then in November 2014 I heard about a play reading that had something to do with the tragedy. Without even asking for too many details I said I would like to attend; Honestly, I was just excited about being a part of a theatre production. At that first meeting I remember walking in on a circle of people sitting around and talking to a Man and Woman. The two spoke of Bhopal, of conspiracy, of murder. They spoke of Union Carbide India Ltd, of the Government of India and their apathy. They spoke of Sathinath Sarangi, Rashida Bi and Champadevi Shukhla, people I'd never heard of. The two who'd come to speak to us were from the Chingari Trust, and also from the ICJB (the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal) and talking with them gave us a lot of grounding for the work we were trying to do.

In the course of our practice sessions our group of actors came together. We were teachers, students, IT professionals, entrepreneurs and activists. Some of us had dabbled in a little bit of theatre, for other it would be their first time on stage but David Selvaraj (our director) and Maliha Ibrahim (our producer) held us all together. We learnt our character's lines, we learnt their stories and over time we learnt, in some small way, what it might have been to be ‘Sathyu’, Champa Devi and Rashida Bi. All the while we were becoming more aware of the damage that can be done when a corporation with no soul is in cahoots with a government without a conscience.

I played the character of Sathinath Sarangi. Sathyu was a PhD Student when he first heard about the leak and he dropped everything to go to Bhopal, where he has stayed ever since to help with the relief effort. I got a taste of his fire through the script itself but then I also had the good luck of meeting him in person. That meeting is something that I will always remember and it went a long way in helping me empathise with him. What I personally took away from the play and my involvement in it was the feeling of being a part of something that happened during my father’s time. Topics like these somehow don’t come up in regular conversation and so to learn about something as important as this, made me feel like I was a part of a thread in the expansive tapestry of a collective Indian sentiment.

In total we did seven shows, all over Bangalore and each time it was amazing to watch the audience involve themselves in the discussions after each performance. It seemed everyone had something to say about the issue. We have had, at every venue, elderly people recounting where they were when the mishap occurred all the way to youngsters getting agitated when they heard, sometimes for the first time, about how our government allowed Anderson to go free and tried to play down the incident. It seemed like the play, and the tragedy in general, really touches something in people.

As silly as it sounds, at the end of it all I felt like I grew up a little. I told my friends about the play I was working on and they came and watched it and then they told their friends about it. I loved that they were as interested in learning about this bit of our history as I was. I think this production was important because it not only helped remind those who had lived through that time, it also engaged the next generation so that they may learn something from a disaster of this magnitude.

Editor's Note : The Renegade Arts and Theatre Society is currently running a crowd-funding campaign for the next two weeks; Please consider making a donation to help the people in Bhopal.

You can read more about it here : http://bitgi.co/bhopal2014

Remembering Bhopal

In remembrance of 30 years since the Bhopal Gas Disaster of 1984, a play "We All Live in Bhopal" has been performed and produced by the Renegade Arts and Theatre Society in campuses across the U.S., U.K, and India. Each performance is subsequently followed by a question and answer session with the author and participants to help spread awareness.

"We All Live in Bhopal" was originally written by Sudhir Selvaraj based on intense reasearch involving interviews, records, and media coverage surrounding the events that happened in Bhopal. The play combines a grand chronological narrative of the events that unfolded in Bhopal interspersed with testimonies of people on the ground.

Cast at the performance at King's College

At each performance, Sudhir was also responsible for leading weak-long training programs. These involved training in theatre and community organizing, as well as helping participants better understand the complexities involved in major international conflicts. The goal of this series of workshops is to empower communities to introspect about challenges they face while understanding other such conflicts around the world.

So far performances have been held in Visthar Academy for Justice and Peace Studies, Bangalore; Concordia College, Minnesota; University of London and King's College, London. Several performances will be scheduled for around the start of December, 30th anniversary of the tragedy

Renegade Arts and Theatre Society is now looking to perform the play in Bangalore this year. If you would like to perform or be involved at all, or are a theatre group looking to use this play, or are looking to be involved with a workshop, please do get in touch with us.

Minimalist Costumes

“What is theatre without the elaborate outfits?”

Most people seem to think that stage costumes should always be exhaustively detailed, but not always. Elaborate costumes might be necessary if you are staging Shakespeare but not for most new age theatre. Ultimately costume is a play on reality (pun intended).

The iconic pipe and lens

So how does it work if you're designing costumes?

Well, you look at a script, you pull out the core characters and sit with them a minute. What it that one thing each character must put on? Write that down. Play into stereotypes; If your characters are prissy then use that, A priss will dress a certain way. Make notes of each character’s base stereotype. And finally, find a trait in a character and try to link it to an item of clothing or a prop. Give the detective a pocket watch, the maid heavy laden eyes. Keep the playwright’s vision in mind and add on to it. 

Once this is done, now take groups of characters together in a scene and observe them. Is one character drastically opposed to another? Then outfits should express that opposition as well. Is the acting very subtle? Then you need to use the clothes so as to highlight the tension. But then again, that doesn't mean you need to put a mother-in-law in a gaudy dress and the daughter in a bandage dress a la Cinderalla. Subtlety is key, subtlety is life. 

Use cuts. 

An interesting way to direct costume will be to draw from the eras of clothing available to all of us in abundance.

Costume makes a play come to life, so it needs to be lifelike. Remember that the next time you custom-make a corset. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Editor's Note : These musings contributed by the costume designer for our upcoming performance of Paula Vogel's 'How I Learned to Drive'.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Image courtesy : http://bit.ly/XhBjv5

"The first duty of a story teller is to tell a story..."

All the seeds of creativity were implanted in him from an early age and it was writing that became his first love...

The Pillowman is about a writer in a totalitarian state named Katurian K Katurian who is arrested with his 400 odd short stories confistcated. He can’t for the life of him see the connection between the arrest and his stories.

Katurian is played by Shyju Varkey. Shyju currently works at Radio One in Bangalore. He got back into active theatre in 2006, after a decade-long hiatus, with the Cause Foundation's 'Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'. Since then, he has been a part of 'All Shook Up', 'Breaking up is hard to do', 'Grease', and more recently, the rip roaring 'Spamalot'. He has also been a part of Poile Sengupta's 'Samara's Song' as well as Tortilla's 'Together in the City'.

He maintains that more than being on stage, it is the stimulating environment of everything that goes behind the scenes that excites him, keeping his mind off from a sometimes-stressful media job.

This is his first play with the Renegade Arts and Theatre Society.

The Play The Pillowman will be held at Alliance Française on the 20^th, 21^st and 22^nd of April.

Tickets are available at all Barista outlets in Bangalore and Cafe De Liberte at the venue. Also available online at www.buzzintown.com, www.indianstage.in and www.zomato.com