Sonali
Bhattacharyya
Playwright and Screenwriter
NEWS
Liberation Squares |Fifth Word/Nottingham Playhouse/Brixton House
Three teenage girls forge an unlikely friendship, beatboxing, dancing, and building their social media empires. But they undergo a political awakening when they realise that what you say – even what you think – is viewed very differently depending on who you are.
When they find themselves the target of the state surveillance ‘Prevent’ programme, they have to fight back. In an era when dissent is being criminalised, what does it take to speak up?
Liberation Squares is a riotous new comedy told through the technicolour lens of three teenage girls. Inspired by graphic novels, hip hop, pop culture and real-world activists. Starring Asha Hassan (Bad Education, BBC 3), Vaneeka Dadhria (Cyrano de Bergerac, West End), and Halema Hussain (The Father and the Assassin, National Theatre) and directed by Milli Bhatia, who I'm excited to be collaborating with again after Chasing Hares, Young Vic.
Photography by Mathushaa Sagthidas
Running at Nottingham Playhouse from 12th to 27th April, then touring across the UK with performances at Oxford North Wall, Brixton House (2nd to 11th May), Birmingham Rep, Newcastle Northern Stage, Sheffield Crucible, Belgrade Coventry and Bolton Octagon.
King Troll (The Fawn)
Women's Prize for Playwriting - Finalist
A dystopian tale about the corrosive impact of state racism and the monster within two migrant sisters.
Riya and Nikita navigate the increasingly authoritarian island where they live in wildly different ways. Insecure, stateless, both desperate for somewhere to call ‘home’.
Riya is offered the chance to create an advocate in the form of a homunculus, or fawn. As a result, she’s able to climb the greasy pole of UK immigration services and elevate herself above the cruelty and neglect meted out to others with her status.
Nikita tries to keep her saviour complex in check as she negotiates the challenges and hypocrisy of the third sector, where she supports migrant teenagers. Her deep connection with one client forces her to confront the limitations of her work.
King Troll is about the troll that lives in all of us – whispering ‘me, not us’, and definitely ‘me first.’
How do we dismantle the master’s house?
Chasing Hares |Young Vic Theatre
Sonia Friedman Production Award Winner
"Chasing Hares is just what we want from a winner for this annual prize: a bold and unexpected story full of surprises, oozing heart and insight. Congratulations Sonali Bhattacharyya for picking up this year’s award!"
Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award Winner
Emma Callander and Hannah Price, Co-Artistic Directors of Theatre Uncut, says, "We are delighted to announce today that Sonali Bhattacharyya is the winner of the second Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award, with her play 'Chasing Hares'. This is a brave, bold play that explores the big issue of exploitation in the workplace, in all its forms, with integrity, humour and heart.
Megaball |National Theatre Learning
Create an extraordinary school play with the National Theatre! I had a blast writing 'Megaball' for the new 'Let's Play' programme for primary schools, which includes music from composer Harry Blake.
'Let’s Play' is an ambitious creative learning programme that can transform creativity and theatre-making in your school. Using a programme of CPDL, specially commissioned plays for children to perform and a suite of learning resources, 'Let’s Play' inspires learning across the curriculum.