The infrastructure for the arts in India generally is quite weak – theatre is one of the more active and stronger parts – but even so there is nothing comparable in India to the amount of nurturing and support that emerging theatre makers in the UK get, whether they're directors or playwrights. So the fact that the Royal Court has been working with Indian writers for quite a while now – this is not a “flavour of the month thing” – is a really good news story. The fact that several of the plays that have been developed in collaboration with the Royal Court have had some form of public showcasing in the UK is of course great news for those writers, and to finally get a full production of one of those plays in London, at a venue like the Royal Court must be a dream for a writer in any city in India. That's an ultimate goal – and now Abhishek's play is getting all of this media interest as well [see our round-up of reviews here].
Of all the many international schemes that support work and create stronger links between the UK and other parts of the world, Elyse Dodgson, who's been running the international programme at the Royal Court, is probably the “grand daddy” of them all. She's been doing it for a long time, and with the kind of seriousness of purpose and rigour that others just can't maintain – these things often start off well but then tend to come and go, whereas it's the Royal Court's persistence [that's impressive]. Of course, it's the Royal Court as an institution too, but we have to give a lot of credit to Elyse.
This play is set in Kashmir; it's an area of India that has been out of bounds for several decades now, because there's been a war raging. It's very topical because just this week there've been border skirmishes and there's this kind of storm cloud that hangs over the beautiful valley of Kashmir – it was once one of the world's most famous beauty spots. The valley's been ravaged by war and poverty and lack of hope. The consequence of war for most people isn't only the bomb damage but also the mental damage and there not really being any future. It's a subtle play, it's not a speechifying or ranting kind of play.
There are so many conflicts in the world. In recent years in London I've seen plays about the war in Congo, the tension in Palestine is often seen on the stage, but to my knowledge Kashmir as a subject has not actually been covered by theatre until now, so that in itself is quite a rare event. Why are we, the British Council, doing this? Because we feel that highlighting issues and casting light on a subject that others can find difficult is really important.
