Winner of the CRE
Race in the Media Award
(BBC Radio 4 adaptation)
“A stunning, mesmerising play reflecting the commitment of director Landon-Smith and the cast to a topic that puzzles the world. For as the contractor says, 'for every solution you come up with, two and a half more problems arise'”
Venue Bristol
Women of the Dust (1992)
by Ruth Carter
On a dusty Delhi construction site, an itinerant, all-female workforce are gathered. They hail from Rajasthan, where yet again the rains have failed, there is nothing to harvest, and their stomachs are empty. The Jamadar (middle man) has brought them here to work for a fat cat building luxury flats for India’s super rich.
Asha waits to give birth to her first child - her time is near, but there is no money. Lali, a child bride wedded at four, awaits life with a husband she cannot recollect. Nisha and Mohini, the privileged Bose sisters, run a rural development programme - they no longer see eye to eye and wonder which way to turn.
Commissioned by Oxfam to mark their 50th anniversary, Women of the Dust, a bold portrayal of migrant Indian life, went on to perform in Delhi and Mumbai, marking Tamasha’s first international tour.
Tour Schedule
7 Oct – 31 Oct 1992
Bristol Old Vic
4 Nov – 28 Nov 1992
Riverside Studios, London
4 Dec – 6 Dec 1992
Phoenix Arts, Leicester
11 Dec – 12 Dec 1992
Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry
30 Jan – 2 Feb 1994
Air Force Auditorium, Delhi, India
10 Feb – 13 Feb 1994
National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai, India