“A beautiful mix of political passion, justice and human nature.”
Chasing Hares expertly captures the ongoing struggle against neo-liberalism and capitalism which stems across time and space. This inspiring story links us all together in a struggle for a world where people matter more than profits. Bhattacharyya’s witty, and blunt script brings to light the atrocities the workforce faced in India in the early 2000’s.
The play starts in modern day Britain with mum and delivery biker Amba (Saroja-Lily Ratnavel) calming down her child by telling the traditional stories of the Indian Jatra and talking with her radical dad Prab about her struggles in the modern gig economy. Prab (Irfan Shamji), spurred on by this, reminisces on when Amba was a baby and they lived in Kolkata relying upon huge factories that couldn’t care less about their workers. In the forefront of the moral dilemma workers had to choose between a livelihood or death. Choosing a livelihood meant waiting outside days on end for shifts, turning a blind eye to child labour and cruelty. In other words put up or shut up.
Prab was a union member who studied Bangladeshi Literature turned machinist in a factory in Kolkata. In his youth he made riveting speeches about rights and communism however with a young baby in the mix, stability took priority and he instead converted his political views into bedtime stories for Amba. This took the form of a tale telling the revolutionary story of Chandri- a heroine who incites revolution against the two evil kings who care more for profits than the animals living on their lands. However, when he is asked to write a play for the local Jatra he cannot express these motives and themes so overtly as it would put his family at risk as the factory owners son Devesh(Scott Karim) works for the Jatra. Throughout the play we see Prab struggle to walk the thin line between acceptable and radical. As the situation in Kolkata is exacerbated, Prab can no longer ignore his gut and moral compass.
Sonali Bhattacharyya does a wonderful job of exploring different characters thoughts and feelings on the crisis they are living through. Whilst Brap is a revolutionary through and through who can’t help but act. His wife Kajol(Zainab Hasan) is a beautifully written character that shows how priorities change even as morals stay the same. Kajol whilst a dreamer in her youth now does what she can to help her neighbours by bringing over food and medicine and picking up other people’s sewing even after a 12-hour shift, in order to ensure the community pulls through. However with the birth of her daughter Ambar she is unwilling to actively revolt against the factory or Devesh, especially as she finds herself going up in the world due to her husband’s new connection to Devesh. This shows how even the strongest of fighters mould to situations when they are beaten down and have people to look after. Bhattacharyya dramatizes people’s history, putting typically obscured characters as centre stage allowing us to imagine different ways of life.
Another thing I have to mention in Ayesha Dhaker’s portrayal of Chellam in this production- with her biting humour and quick wit, she provides some comedic relief to the story whilst standing up to Devesh.
Overall, this play is an empowering and thought provoking piece that cleverly uses theatre within the piece to show how people when working together are a force to be reckoned with. Without giving too much away – the ending is bittersweet and feel-good as we watch Amba follow in her father’s footsteps and fight for what is right by bringing people together with an idea voiced out loud.
Sonali Bhattacharyya shows us how the struggles of the factory workers in India in the early 2000’s are the same struggles that delivery bikers face today, just as Chandi faced them in Prab’s revolutionary and thought-provoking play. As Amba so aptly said, if we work together for what is right we could bring down the tower rather than chasing hares individually. It is no wonder this play won Theatre Uncut’s Political Playwriting Award in 2021.
If you are on the mood for a politically thought-provoking piece that beautifully draws from traditional Indian Folktale then I highly recommend going to see this play.
Chasing Hares is a Young Vic and Theatre Uncut production playing at the Young Vic until the 13th August.