Post-BHOPAL – Thank you!

Dear Friends,

Thank you for attending our staged-reading of Bhopal by Rahul Varma at CounterPULSE on Friday, March 26th!

I directed Bhopal to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal Tragedy and to honor Habib Tanvir, a legendary director from India, who translated the play into Hindi as Zahreeli Hawa (Poisonous Wind).

Bhopal was staged minimally.  6 actors sat on chairs on either side of the stage. We had a wonderful dancer, vocalist and tabla player, seated on a rug downstage-right.  The Zahreeli Hawa (Poisonous Wind) dance symbolized the toxic gas that killed up to 20,000 people during the Bhopal Tragedy.

I’ve always been afraid of ‘didactic’ political plays, so in this performance we tried to create rich characters, who would humanize the tragedy.  I felt it was important to balance the realistic narrative with the poetic element of the choreographed dance.

Many audience members asked how they could help the people of Bhopal, who are still suffering 25 years after the worst industrial disaster in the world.  I’ve included some links for Bay Area groups that are involved in the Bhopal Campaign.

I welcome your feedback, and look forward to hearing from you.

Vidhu Singh,
April 1, 2010
Theater Rasa Nova

Here’s a slide-show about the Bhopal Tragedy, created by Moid Alam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiVEQP0zY6o

Links for three Bay Area based activist groups involved in the Bhopal campaign.  You will find information about how you can help:

International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB):
http://www.icjb.org/

A report on our staged-reading of Bhopal and a parallel Bhopal event in the South Bay in a community newspaper: