Atri Banerjee
Hello! Atri Banerjee, the Gate’s Creative Associate, reporting from our offices. As I write, auditions are taking place in the room next door for Wish You Were Here, our autumn production. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be here, and I’m resisting the urge to peer through the window in the door as Sepy (Director), Nadine (Casting Director) and Alice (Senior Producer) meet all the amazing actors who have come in to read today.
I started as Creative Associate at the Gate almost exactly a year ago. One of my first and most important duties – one that carries on today – was to help the team decide what shows the Gate might want to produce in the future, and which artists to engage in their making. I had come across the work of the Iranian-American playwright Sanaz Toossi a couple of months earlier, having been given Wish You Were Here to read.
Her play English is by now known to UK audiences (with a smash-hit production at the RSC and the Kiln), and has had immense critical acclaim on both sides of the pond (including earning Sanaz a Pulitzer Prize). It was this play, however, that first had my heart; it’s a funny, intimate and ultimately devastating portrait of five women on the brink of global and personal change. It took the hearts of the rest of the team the moment they all read it too.
A year later, here we are. We’ve assembled a world-class group of artists to create this show, with a commitment to authentic Iranian representation across both our cast and production team. At this very difficult geopolitical moment it feels doubly important to champion SWANA voices, and we’ve been thinking hard about what our production of Wish You Were Here can offer by way of solidarity, resistance and community.
At the Gate, we’re committed to our role as an international theatre, telling stories from beyond our borders in order to better understand the world at home. I’m delighted that London audiences will get to further experience Sanaz’s work and this beautiful play, which asks how we hold on to life and friendship when it seems like the world is crumbling around us.
Personally I can’t wait to see what’s being cooked up in the room next door. For now, I’ll have to settle for the snatches of text I can hear through the wall. Come on down to Theatro Technis from 24 October to 23 November to experience the magic for yourself: I’m looking forward to seeing you there. Until then, خداحافظ!
