Anya Banerjee Instagram – “The Exchange” is my attempt to give the Indian Boy from A Midsummer Night’s Dream a voice. Changelings were believed to be fairies left in place of stolen human babies in Shakespeare’s time. But in the play, a real boy is taken from Bengal by a fairy Queen and no child of hers is left in return. There’s no exchange but rather a taking—a metaphor, perhaps, for England’s conquest of India over the centuries to come. He must have been confused in this strange new land, separated from his mother and mother-tongue. This first generation Kiwi-Indian-American can relate!
Huge thank you to @mistermysterio for encouraging me to write this sonnet, to @saintflashlight for curating this brilliant series, and @theatreforanewa for displaying it at your groundbreaking theatre!
And thanks especially to @claymcinerney for always supporting me in my writing and flying back to NYC just to see it! You are amazing. ❤️ | Posted on 31/Oct/2021 02:07:42
