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Colonialism is alive and kicking: Niall Moorjani’s rebellion against the British narrative in Kanpur: 1857

Richard Beck Richard Beck
24 Jul 2025

We spoke to Niall Moorjani about their new play at this year’s EdFringe, Kanpur: 1857 – a piece rooted in the Indian Mutiny of that year.

Niall, Kanpur: 1857 “challenges the narrative of heroism and villainy, examining contemporary conflicts around gender, colonial violence and making art in times of crisis”. Were you keen to write about the Rebellion, or was it just a convenient vehicle for exploring those issues?

I have been fascinated by the Indian uprising since I studied it years ago in my undergrad at uni. I had always wanted to write something about it and originally thought it might take the shape of a novel. But then, with recent events in Gaza, I was so struck by the parallels – a colonial oppressor reacting to a moment of violent resistance with mass collective punishment. It made me want to tell the story of the uprising of 1857 to hopefully draw attention to what’s happening in Gaza right now and ask people to think differently about it.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not incredibly passionate about communicating this very under-told (in British contexts) Indian story. It’s part of our history now and deserves telling as such.

It sounds as though you’ve taken on quite a challenge in the breadth of material and issues. How have you interwoven all those elements?

Traditional-style storytelling sits at the core of all of my work, and in the end it was actually fairly straightforward to do it as a story. So the rebel (my character) is forced to tell the tale of how they became involved in the uprising by a British officer – and naturally, in the telling of that very personal story, the rest of it just sort of unfolds.

In the historical business we might call it a microhistory, where you use one person or one moment from the past to explore a far larger period of history. I guess in some ways this is a sort of dramatised, semi-fictionalised microhistory. But it’s super effective and keeps things nice and simple. My character can’t speak to everything that happened in the uprising, just as someone couldn’t tell you everything about Covid-19 – but what they do tell gives great depth of its own sort and touches on a much wider picture.

You also refer to it as “a satirical interrogation of colonial history”. How does satire work as a vehicle for achieving your objectives?

Ohh it’s just so effective – like, mocking power and atrocity is such an effective way to highlight its absurdity and therefore morally problematic nature. I took so much inspiration from people like Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris, but also closer to home, Jonathan Oldfield (the co-director and performer), who co-writes Time of the Week with Lorna Rose Treen. And even though it’s a different kind of satire, I find them so inspiring for mocking and critiquing unjust structures and elements of society. So Jonathan was amazing to have on board.

For good measure, you also have a live soundtrack. Why did you incorporate that into the play?

Well, live music was actually played as part of these events (where Indian rebels were strapped to cannons), so it felt historically accurate to do so. But also, the specific musician we have – sodhi – is just an absolute master. His tabla transports you straight to India and adds so much clarity and emotional depth to the storytelling in the show. He is incredible, and I’ve worked with him before on one of my other shows (Mohan: A Partition Story), so it’s a joy to be working with him again.

You’re the winner of the Charlie Hartill Fund 2025. What did the prize consist of, and how has it helped you bring this work to fruition?

The prize consisted of both financial and in-kind support that has been quite game-changing. It’s allowed us to upgrade our set, but most importantly not worry about a lot of external stuff like I normally would – ticket sales, upfront costs etc – and means we can actually focus on the piece itself. I’ve never had that before and feel so lucky to be in it.

With that said, it doesn’t feel right to be one of the only artists of colour with this kind of support at the festival. I hope more organisations follow Pleasance’s lead soon and have lots of specific prizes for artists of colour.

What would you like audiences to take away from the play?

That history is complex and nuanced. That colonialism is alive and kicking. And that revolution and resistance are human – not simply statistics.

Richard Beck

Richard Beck

A graduate in theology and education, Richard acted and contributed to dance, drama and music productions throughout his teaching career. He joined Broadway Baby in 2014 and is now our Editor-in-Chief. He usually disappears to warmer climes for the winter to pursue his passion for travel.

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