Transcript:
Climate change and pollution harm some communities more than others. And a new play in New York called “Sulfur Bottom” takes on this real-world injustice with a fictional and at times surreal story.
The play centers on a family living next to a toxic waste site, which makes some of them sick and disrupts their lives.
Varma: “We follow them across four generations of this house as they decide if they leave, if they stay, what they’re going to do with it, how it’s hurting them, and what the effects are across those 40 years.”
In the story, playwright Rishi Varma also includes talking animals like a beached whale that shows up in the family’s living room.
He says surreal elements like this encourage the audience to consider the themes of the story from a new perspective.
But to stay grounded in how environmental injustice affects real people, “Sulfur Bottom” has hosted postshow talks with community advocates.
And after shows, they gather donations for WE ACT for Environmental Justice, a nonprofit that advocates on issues like climate adaptation and clean air in low-income areas and communities of color.
Varma: “Even if it’s small, taking some action against environmental injustice is the most important thing we could bring with this play.”
Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
