Bhopal

Epic Actors' Workshop and Bond Street Theatre
18 November 2012
Venue: 
Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ
Country: 
USA
India
Nepal
4pm
Web site: 
Bond St Theatre
Epic Actors' Workshop and Bond Street Theatre are pleased to present
 
BHOPAL
by Rahul Varma
 
 
The collaborative production premieres November 18, 2012 at 4 pm at Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ before the production tours tour to India and Nepal.  Purchase tickets here for this one-day event!  Directions available here.
 
The Play
Lucknow performance
Children watch a performance in India.
On the night of December 3, 1984, Union Carbide's pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, exploded engulfing the city in a billow of deadly poisonous fumes. Small children fell like flies, men and women vainly scurried for safety only to collapse, breathless and blinded by the gas. By sunset, the death toll was 2,500. By the following day, the numbers had no meaning. That night, Bhopal became the largest peacetime gas chamber in history.
 
Rahul Varma's play reveals the human stories within the complex political and economic web, and events leading up to one of the worst industrial catastrophes in history.  The ensembles chose this play to place the historic tragedy in conversation with more modern events, and shine a light on corporate responsibility to the environment and the human impact of development.  

According to Artistic Director Joanna Sherman, "Having witnessed the devastation and impact of armed conflict, I am incensed by the silent and equally deadly impact of negligence. The play reveals the 'not in my backyard' mentality of those who are well protected by wealth, power, and position."

The Production

Bhopal is directed by Joanna Sherman, Artistic Director of Bond Street Theatre, and features Arpana Bhattacharya, Soumendu Bhattacharya, Shailendra Khurana, Michael McGuigan, Gargi Mukherjee, Sajal Mukherjee, and Anna Zastrow.  The chorus for the US performance includes Renee Bhattacharya, Birsa Mukherjee Chatterjee, Barkha Kishnani, Heddy Lahmann, Ilanna Saltzman, and Puja Shourie. The chorus for the India and Nepal tour will include Ilanna Saltzman, Birsa Mukherjee Chatterjee, and a group of local actors.

The Production Stage Manager is Julian Goldhagen.  Video and Audio Design by Michael McGuigan, Set Design by Michael McGuigan and Joanna Sherman, Light Design by Olivia Harris, and Costume Design by Barkha Kishnani.  The play is produced by Dipan Ray of Epic Actors' Workshop.

The Tour

Thanks to support from the US Embassy in Kathmandu, the play will be presented at the Natyamela International Drama Festival in Kolkata, India on December 3, the Kathmandu International Theatre Festival in Nepal on December 6, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts Centrestage Festival in Mumbai, India, on December 8.

Bond Street Theatre is pleased to continue its work in India with this international tour.  The company completed a three year Arts Exchange Program in 2009, and remains dedicated to the region.

To donate to support all our international programs, click here.
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15/11/2012