Writer: Ben Musgrove
Director: Gavin Joseph
Focusing on the exploitation of Bengali indigo farmers by British factory owners in the nineteenth century and the present day, Ben Musgrove’s Indigo Giant carefully explains the economic trap that was created by lowering process and using various manipulative means to increase planting. Arriving at Soho Poly – the venue’s first production for 30 years – on a UK tour, Musgrove’s play presents the perspective of farmers and factory workers in its two-hour dramatisation of important plant and colonial management designed to maintain the existing power structure.
Newly married to the beautiful Kshetromani, Sadhu is saddened to hear the death of a respected local “planter.” When he is replaced by Rose, a series of battles begin that keep Sadhu on the poverty line, devaluing his crop while entangling him in complex loans and increasing demands for product. Meanwhile, in the modern era, Rupa dyes huge vats of denim noting that cross-generational control has barely changed.
Musgrove’s play captures the precarious nature of farming in Bengal and the big commercial ventures that continue to demand huge sacrifices from individuals through high yields and low wages in order to feed demand. That point builds slowly at first and it takes a while for Indigo Giant to arrive at its core themes, but towards the interval at the end of Act Two, the natures of these transactions and the centuries of interwoven colonial assumptions about Bengali indigo and the skills needed to grow it become clear.
The final part of the play looks at resistance, giving characters in both eras greater agency and although most of their activities are reported dialogue rather than staged action, the commonalities between the two eras and Musgrove’s overarching points about the cycles of mistreatment will certainly make you look down guiltily at your jeans as the tale unfolds. The more contemporary scenes take up far less room in the story, however, and here both the characters and the demands of global fashion chains need more fleshing out.
Diljohn Singh grows into the role of Sadhu, the excitement of being a newlywed with a wife he is proud of sours as the attentions of Thomas King’s smarmy Rose puts pressures on Sadhu’s marriage and his business. Amy Tara gives Kshetromani a frightened innocence but finds a voice at the right moment, and while the rest of the cast are occasionally confusing as multiple characters, they create a lot of scenarios with a small ensemble.
As touring production stopping for only two nights in each space, it is quite a lot of work for director Gavin Joseph to re-block the show to suit the venue but the intimacy of the Soho Poly space, essential a basement black box, suits the scale of Indigo Giant. Future productions at this venue, however, might give thought to sight lines, and with flat seating, anyone not sitting in the front row will struggle to see the actors if they sit down or use the floor. Raked or raised seating may become a necessity if Soho Poly is to thrive as a theatre space.
Runs until 20 March 2024 and continues to tour
