Indigo Giant
Born out of a dialogue between British and Bangladeshi theatre makers, Indigo Giant is a gripping, haunting new drama inspired by Dinabandhu Mitra’s trail-blazing Indigo Mirror, a play that shook colonial India.
Image: From INDIGO GIANT, Dhaka Production Photo: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed.
1859. A field in Kanaipur, Bengal. Life-loving Sadhu Charan, an indigo farmer, is newly married to Kshetromani, a woman with visions of the future. At first, all is idyllic. But when the new British Planter, Rose, arrives, full of strange desires, the creeping malignancy of the indigo system begins to strangle their happiness.
During the British Raj, to meet the world's insatiable desire for blue, vast swathes of the Bengali countryside were given over to the cultivation of the indigo plant. The atrocities committed by British planters triggered an extraordinary revolution that changed Bengal forever.
Can't you hear the footsteps all around?
The Indigo Giant is coming!
Born out of a dialogue between British and Bangladeshi theatre makers, Indigo Giant is a gripping, haunting new drama inspired by Dinabandhu Mitra's trail-blazing Indigo Mirror, a play that shook colonial India.
Following a successful initial production in Bangladesh in 2022, Komola is reimagining this gripping piece for the UK stage in 2024. Find out more about the Bangladesh production here. Indigo Giant is a finalist for the UEA Innovation and Impact Awards for Outstanding Social & Cultural Impact
Indigo Giant is published by Salamander Street Press as a programme playtext alongside the production. Get your copy here.
On Saturday 8 June 2024 at 14:00 BST, we will be holding an Online Symposium inspired by issue 117: Irresistible of Selvedge Magazine inviting a discussion around the irresistible nature of resist-dyeing techniques around the world. Join us to discuss batik and its history and legacy. Book your tickets now: www.selvedge.org/products/-online-symposium-irresistible
Image: From INDIGO GIANT, Dhaka Production Photo: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed.
1859. A field in Kanaipur, Bengal. Life-loving Sadhu Charan, an indigo farmer, is newly married to Kshetromani, a woman with visions of the future. At first, all is idyllic. But when the new British Planter, Rose, arrives, full of strange desires, the creeping malignancy of the indigo system begins to strangle their happiness.
During the British Raj, to meet the world's insatiable desire for blue, vast swathes of the Bengali countryside were given over to the cultivation of the indigo plant. The atrocities committed by British planters triggered an extraordinary revolution that changed Bengal forever.
Can't you hear the footsteps all around?
The Indigo Giant is coming!
Born out of a dialogue between British and Bangladeshi theatre makers, Indigo Giant is a gripping, haunting new drama inspired by Dinabandhu Mitra's trail-blazing Indigo Mirror, a play that shook colonial India.
Following a successful initial production in Bangladesh in 2022, Komola is reimagining this gripping piece for the UK stage in 2024. Find out more about the Bangladesh production here. Indigo Giant is a finalist for the UEA Innovation and Impact Awards for Outstanding Social & Cultural Impact
Indigo Giant is published by Salamander Street Press as a programme playtext alongside the production. Get your copy here.
On Saturday 8 June 2024 at 14:00 BST, we will be holding an Online Symposium inspired by issue 117: Irresistible of Selvedge Magazine inviting a discussion around the irresistible nature of resist-dyeing techniques around the world. Join us to discuss batik and its history and legacy. Book your tickets now: www.selvedge.org/products/-online-symposium-irresistible