Co-director of the award-winning play The Nobodies, Vikesh Godhwani, speaks to Lara Zammit about the play and the social realities it depicts.

LZ. The Nobodies is a play about social division and discontent, portraying universal conditions of struggle in the lived experiences of those on the lower echelons of the social hierarchy. A socio-political drama about three young people fighting to save their local NHS hospital from privatisation, the theme of publicly owned goods being redistributed to the wealthy few is one not unfamiliar to a Maltese audience (we are currently fighting to prevent the Marsascala sea­front from becoming a yacht marina). How does the play address this theme and how did you and Sam Edmunds direct its course?

VG. Inequality in relation to class is, of course, the central theme of the play and one which unfortunately has now become a very universal one. All over the world we are looking at a situation in which nepotism is prevailing and the middle classes are rapidly being eradicated because of the gap between the rich and the poor.

These are, of course, discussions that came up throughout our process, but ultimately as directors the way we tackled it was to focus on telling the story in the most engaging, thrilling and theatrical way we could. Amy has written a fantastic script in which the stereotypical tropes of working-class people from the north of England are turned on their heads. She was tired of working-class stories being all about doom, gloom and food banks.

Instead, with The Nobodies, we have three characters who, at least initially, are like superheroes to their community. They are taking back the power from a system that has completely cast them aside, and it’s absolutely thrilling, funny and endlessly entertaining to go on that journey with them. Giving the main characters this power over the greedy establishment makes the play a rebellious piece of work in its own right.

For once, it is the wealthy characters who are purposely made into caricatures, and it is the working class leads who are given depth as real people who are multi-faceted. Ultimately, it has been an absolute privilege for myself and Sam to work on a play that is both incredibly entertaining but also is informed by issues that are relevant not only to the UK but are happening in one form or another internationally.

Scenes from the play The Nobodies from The Lion and Unicorn Theatre.

LZ. The play’s protagonists Rhea, Aaron and Curtis soon find themselves gathering power, influence and infamy, and inspiring a cohort of vigilante activists. Change within this system seems to necessitate some sort of Faustian bargain to take place. How does the play tackle the nuances and grey areas of activism?

A mistrust of those in power

VG. The characters in The Nobodies start a movement almost accidentally to save their local hospital. Now, more than ever, especially among young people, there is a mistrust of those in power as we have been let down time and time again. There is this sense that if we want change in the world, we have to do something about it ourselves, and over the years we have seen some movements really gathering momentum, such as Me Too, Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter spearheaded by young people who have had enough.

Even locally, with the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, we have seen a rise in protests as there seems to be an increased understanding that governments are there to serve us and not the other way around. I think that communities coming together and demanding change is an absolutely wonderful thing and the play definitely celebrates that.

I think what perhaps the play implies is that it is important to always remember what your values were in the first place, and that because we have created such a capitalist society, it is very easy for the dark forces of power and greed to corrupt even the most righteous of people.

Having said all of this, when making a show and telling a story, it is always about specific characters, going through specific circumstances. We did not set out to make any sweeping statements or generalisations about activism. This play is not didactic in any way, shape or form.

To me, the best theatre always strives to ask more questions than trying to come up with definite conclusions. One of my favourite things about working on this show is the conversations I have with audiences afterwards as everyone has different perspectives on what they just watched. There is a beauty in presenting the audience with a story and listening to what they thought it all meant.

LZ. What do you hope audiences will glean from the play? Will they find the prospect of resistance fruitful or futile?

VG. I think the audience will really understand why the characters do what they do. For a Maltese audience particularly, not having access to basic healthcare as you do not have a hospital nearby is a scenario that is completely unimaginable.

I think it will really set things into perspective and hopefully make people aware of the day-to-day struggles of people who are marginalised and who do not have what we consider to be the most basic of needs. It will ultimately make people understand why movements start and how they come out of an urgent need for change in a society that currently just serves the few.

The Nobodies is on at Spazju Kreattiv Theatre, Valletta, September 15-19. Visit kreattivita.org for information and to book tickets.