Bhopal: the most cataclysmic crime of capitalism

MAYER WAKEFIELD applauds a fearless attempt to bring to the stage the 1984 toxic gas disaster in Bhopal, India

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FOR what is considered the world’s worst industrial disaster, the 1984 toxic gas leak in the central Indian city of Bhopal, which affected over 500,000 people, gets relatively little attention. Titas Halder’s poetic new play, Darkling, aims to redress that and explicitly makes the point that not all ecocide gets equal treatment.

“The actions of an uncaring mind./ They knew it might happen/ But our lives are valued less/ They made their money and left.”

No direct mention is made of Union Carbide, the US corporation responsible for the disaster or its CEO at the time, Warren Anderson, but it is clear where the righteous anger of this production aims, and poignantly lands.

Halder gives us the story from the ground up, through the eyes of an unnamed young woman whose chance to heal the wounds of youthful tragedies is stolen from her by this most cataclysmic crime of capitalism. The “metal giant” being constructed in the distance looms over as we are reminded that these crimes were foreseen, and did not come without warnings from local people.

Linnea Berthelsen, primarily known for her role in the Netflix smash-hit Stranger Things, captures the waning innocence of a human life restricted by structural violence. Her performance is imbued with a contained rage which compliments Matthew Xia’s pacy, calculated direction.

Beth Duke’s evocative sound design fills in the gaps where the breakneck speed occasionally leaves the audience struggling to keep up, and perhaps there are moments where greater stillness may have proved effective.

Halder spares us many pleasantries and gets to the human core of a simply devastating incident and, although this play does not quite convey the scale of the horror, it makes a fearless attempt. In an age of increasingly ruthless extraction, it serves as a painful reminder of what a profit-over-people mindset can result in.

Runs until October 24. Box office: (020) 8743-5050, bushtheatre.co.uk

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