The Royal Court’s International Playwrights strand has, for the past three decades, provided valuable, not to mention sobering, glimpses into worlds that too infrequently appear in drama.
This Tibet-set work, from Indian writer Abhishek Majumdar, is the latest such offering. Based on real stories from the independence struggles of the 2008 Lhasa riots, it hinges upon the David versus Goliath contest between a young Buddhist nun and a Chinese policeman.
Deshar (Millicent Wong) and Deng (Daniel York Loh) first cross paths during a Chinese crackdown on Tibetan monasteries. Rebellious Deshar commits an extreme act that has far-reaching consequences for herself, Deng and their respective families. There’s some over-emphatic acting from the cast of eight in Debbie Hannan’s production, which boasts a moment of astonishing on-stage fire but is elsewhere bedevilled by oddly jarring pauses. Majumdar’s writing, full of lines such as “life is an act of violence”, has a tendency towards the portentous and gnomic.
It would be absurd to expect one play to encapsulate the entire situation in Tibet but more fleshing out is required. This pertains above all to the elusive character of Deshar’s father, Tsering (Richard Rees), who says, “It’s much easier to be a Buddha than an ordinary Tibetan in this world.”
Until April 27 (020 7565 5000, royalcourttheatre.com)
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