LOLITA CHAKRABARTI: ‘I may be diverse to other people but, for me, I’m just me’

‘Now more than ever, we want stories,’ says Lolita Chakrabarti, ‘something that takes us away from sitting at home.’ Our hunger for stories has underpinned Chakrabarti’s successful career as an actor and writer (her credits include adapting Yann Martel’s Booker-winning Life Of Pi for the stage). But stories have been in short supply recently and, as Chakrabarti contends, our stint of ‘sitting at home’, as well as making us aware of how vulnerable we are, has given us time to think: ‘We are looking out, wondering what kind of world we will emerge into when this is over. We want to know how to ensure that the quality of our lives is better.’

This may also account for the amplification of our collective response to the death of George Floyd, and a renewed willingness to consider questions about representation and diversity, which actors of colour have been highlighting for decades: ‘If only someone would listen,’ says Chakrabarti. Like many of them (including Adjoa Andoh), Chakrabarti feels a sense of frustration that the nature of the conversation has not changed: ‘Any conversations about diversity are framed for those who need to learn from the discussion. It’s not a conversation for me. I don’t think of myself as diverse in the slightest,’ she says. ‘I may be diverse to other people but, for me, I’m just me.’

She describes beginning her acting career more than 30 years ago (after completing her training at RADA) as akin to stepping into a ‘brave new world’. She felt fortunate to be hired, but she was inevitably cast as the ‘best friend’ or the ‘doctor’ rather than the lead role, joking that she has played ‘every profession there is’.

And although there has been progress, it’s time to view the issue from a different perspective, not as a petition for ‘inclusion’ (which suggests someone on the outside ‘asking to be let in’) but rather as a matter of us all aiming for equal representation, says Chakrabarti. ‘Everybody should be part of the stories we tell; it makes them more interesting.’ One thing that isn’t often remarked upon is how perceived ‘difference’ can be an advantage, as well as a source of pride.

‘It can be difficult to get people to recognise the stories you want to tell when they come from a slightly different cultural point of view,’ says Chakrabarti, ‘but there is a huge advantage in telling stories from those hitherto unexplored perspectives. There are many of us coming together to do so now and it feels fresh. The current climate has shown we can’t be complacent. The historical omissions of the past cannot continue.’

Life Of Pi will be playing at Wyndham’s Theatre with dates to be announced. See lifeofpionstage.com

It’s time to aim for the representation that ultimately makes us all better off