Sonali
Bhattacharyya
Playwright and Screenwriter
NEWS
Sloan Commission | Manhattan Theatre Club
So excited to be one of five writers commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club under their Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Initiative commissions for new theatrical works on themes of science, maths, and technology. It's a story I've wanted to tell for such a long time, weaving together overlooked colonial history, Bengali resistance and early surveillance technology. And thrilled this is my first international commission.
King Troll (The Fawn) | New Diorama/Kali Theatre
Finalist for the 2023 Women’s Prize for Playwriting, King Troll (The Fawn) is a dark and otherworldly thriller about two South Asian sisters, desperate to escape the border regime without losing their humanity. Is that even possible on this island? A dystopian exploration of migrant experiences in all their complexity.
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, and sees a chance to elevate herself above the cruelty meted out to others. 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 within all of us - whispering ‘me, not us’, and definitely ‘me’ first.
I'm so excited to bring King Troll (The Fawn) to audiences this Halloween season! This will be my third collaboration with director Milli Bhatia. We have an incredible cast: Diyar Bozkurt, Ayesha Dharker, Zainab Hasan, Dominic Holmes, Safiyya Ingar. Join us!
Photography by Felix Pilgrim, Design by Guy Sanders
The Little Mermaid | Bristol Old Vic
Artwork: Steph Pyne | Photo Richard Lakos
Really pleased to bring this contemporary adaptation of The Little Mermaid to audiences in Bristol this Christmas!
The Little Mermaid loves swimming, dancing and spending time with her friends. She might be different to the other sea creatures but they’re family and these waters are home.
So when the sea starts to get warmer – the kelp wilting, the coral fading – she realises she has to act. The mermaid vows to protect their home and it seems a caring young man trying to restore the reef is just the person to help. But how much is she willing to sacrifice to find answers on land? Can the Sea Witch really be trusted to help? And what oily monsters lurk in the deep?
Dive into a magical underwater kingdom this Christmas with Bristol Old Vic’s bold and breathtaking re-imagining of the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale about love, hope, and how no one is too small to change the world.
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.