After successful shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Seven Dials Playhouse, Want the Moon Theatre is set to premiere its touching and perceptive family drama, “Passing”, at Park Theatre.
Celebrating Diwali, Passing is a warm-hearted comedy set in a single room, delving into Indian family heritage and the journey of self-acceptance. The narrative follows Rachel, a young biracial woman navigating a sense of detachment from her roots. Through Rachel's story, Passing sheds light on the contemporary biracial experience. The play will be performed from November 1 to November 25.
In an interview with Asian Voice, writer Dan Sarren talks about the play, its inspiration and the intricacies behind it.
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your one-room comedy play? What motivated you to explore Indian family?
Initially, the piece stemmed from my connection to my Indian heritage and my eagerness to learn more about unfamiliar aspects. I aimed to portray how a family encountering Indian culture and the Diwali festival for the first time might feel. I wanted to explore how their British identity and the pressure of time affected this experience. The play also delves into the challenges of being biracial, a theme I hadn't seen explored before. These personal themes felt crucial for biracial individuals like myself, as I noticed their absence in current theatre representation. I wrote this play for individuals sharing similar emotions, as a way to address these unexplored feelings.
Can you share moments from the play that highlight the cultural and family dynamics?
There are a few scenes which focus on familiar staples of a family gathering, such as when the characters decide it would be a good idea to play a board game. I really enjoyed writing a scene in which the group’s attention is pulled in multiple directions whilst trying to focus on a game, and the conflict sparks as a result.
What role does the one-room setting play in creating a unique atmosphere?
The one-room setting and the one-day time period of the play really add to the sense of intimacy and naturalism, which I think the audience will connect with. I was particularly interested in experimenting with how much conflict and tension could be achieved between the family members without anyone actually leaving for good. That’s the special and relatable thing about family gatherings, things can get heated and argumentative, and even go drastically wrong, but people will somehow still be drawn back together into polite conversation and perhaps enforced enjoyment. That’s how these types of celebratory events work, particularly in the UK.
How do the characters in your play represent the different aspects of Indian family heritage, while contributing to the comedic elements?
Different characters relate to the Indian side of their heritage in different ways. The central conflict comes from the protagonist, Rachel’s frustration with her father for his failure to teach them about Indian culture and their heritage. So there’s inevitable opposition from other characters when Rachel is telling them how they need to dress and what they should be doing, because they’re not used to the festival or the culture. It’s all played comically, finding humour in that reluctance and the clash of stubborn personalities.
Could you describe some of the cultural and generational conflicts that arise in the play, and how they contribute to the characters' personal growth?
There is definitely a clash between the younger generation and their parents in the play, which mostly arises from how and in what era each of them have been raised. The older characters were born in a different time, and they have an old-fashioned view on things explored in the play like discrimination, which juxtaposes the younger people’s modern sensibilities. I think each of the characters has something to learn by listening to others’ experiences and so there’s no right answer, no correct point of view.
How do you balance comedy and the exploration of self-acceptance and cultural heritage? How do you think audiences from various backgrounds will relate?
The comedy in the play is tied into the naturalistic dialogue which comes from group scenes, with characters sparking off each other and reacting. It’s something I’ve really enjoyed playing with- finding those moments of humour even in the tough, dramatic scenes in which the characters are voicing or confronting important thoughts.
Although this is a story about a biracial person of Indian and white heritage, I think it’s going to be relatable for a lot of dual-heritage people who feel caught between two sides. Anyone who has experienced their heritage and culture being lost through the generations and the sadness of it, will also relate.
What message or takeaway do you hope the audience will have after experiencing your play?
Hopefully, the audiences will come away with something to think about around the themes of biracial identity, but part of what we’re trying to say with the piece is that there are no easy solutions to the questions being raised. There are a lot more discussions to have and hopefully more and more plays will start exploring the modern biracial experience. I hope audiences come away thinking about heritage, race and identity, but that the play provides a starting point for anyone who has not considered these themes from a biracial perspective. Mostly though, I hope they find it enjoyable, relatable and entertaining to watch this family chaos unfold.
