I sat down with Raquel Bartra to find out more about Causa: The Trial of the Illegal Potato, coming to LowMAC (formerly The Glitch) this September.
Can you tell me a little about your show and what audiences can expect?
Causa is an absurdist courtroom comedy about a Peruvian immigrant who faces charges and deportation for accidentally causing a UK-wide agricultural crisis after growing a bootleg crop of a forbidden potato variety to cook a cherished dish from home to cure her homesickness and appease her cravings. Audiences can expect colourful characters and a lot of chaos.
What drew you to this specific story?
I think there are too many sad immigration and homesickness stories out there in the world, and at one point I realised none of them resonated with me. I find homesickness to be a bit of an absurd, weird, even funny feeling driven by frustration that things will never be the same no matter how hard you try. I was pondering all this when I had a real craving for a Causa, the dish the play is about, and I realised I wanted to write about the catastrophic worst-case scenario of attempting to fulfil my dreams to recreate this dish authentically, which seemed like a better idea than actually importing an illegal potato.
What has been the biggest challenge in bringing this production to life?
The logistics! We have a cast of five which can prove tricky when trying to work around everyone’s very different schedules. I can see now why most fringe plays are solo shows and two-handers, but I wouldn’t trade the size of Causa for anything.
How does the design of your show (set, sound, or lighting) impact the presentation of your story?
We are still very much operating at a minimalist scope and we’ve paid particular attention to the costumes, which are crucial to elevate the absurdity of the grand characters we have in the court.
If you could sum up the show in one word or phrase, what would it be and why?
“GUILTY of being very entertaining!” – borrowed words from someone who said this about the play at our first Scratch night earlier in the year.
Causa: The Trial of the Illegal Potato is at LowMAC (formerly The Glitch) as part of Lambeth Fringe 25 – 26 September, with tickets available here: https://lambethfringe.com/events/causa
