For many, a single piece of art can act as a catalyst, unlocking a wellspring of creativity and confidence. For playwright Gayathiri Kamalakanthan, that transformative spark came from watching Inua Ellams' celebrated production, Barber Shop Chronicles, during the first national lockdown in 2020.
A Virtual Journey to Global Barber Shops
Furloughed and seeking connection, the 26-year-old tuned into the National Theatre at Home streaming service. What unfolded was a revelation. The play opens with the audience immersed in the vibrant, communal atmosphere of a barber shop, blurring the lines between performers and spectators. "You really feel part of it," Kamalakanthan recalls, noting the lack of a raised stage created an intimate, inviting space.
The narrative travels across six cities—Johannesburg, Kampala, Lagos, Harare, Accra, and London—with 12 actors portraying 33 distinct characters. Kamalakanthan was struck by the authentic human detail, believing in every single one. The conversations woven through these spaces covered a vast terrain: sex, marriage, queerness, capitalism, and football, all presented without centring or over-explaining to a presumed white audience.
Personal Affirmation and Creative Inspiration
As a queer and non-binary person grappling with gender identity at the time, Kamalakanthan found the play's expansive and tender exploration of masculinity profoundly affirming. The dynamic staging, with spinning chairs, music, and choreography, felt powerfully innovative.
Learning that Ellams had based the dialogue on hours of real-life interviews was a lightbulb moment. "It reminded me of conversations I would have at home with my aunties, with my mum," Kamalakanthan explains. This realisation sparked an idea: "Oh, I could write about my Tamil-ness, and bring in the Tamil language and our customs and food and rituals, and it could be interesting and rich."
From Spectator to Storyteller
Inspired directly by Ellams' method, Kamalakanthan began conducting Zoom interviews with family elders, recording 20 hours of conversation. These intimate talks, including gentle inquiries about her mother's migration from Jaffna during the Sri Lankan civil war, became the foundation for her first play, Period Parrrty.
"I'd never thought someone could put that on stage," Kamalakanthan states, "and I wouldn't have had the confidence to do so without seeing this play." The experience demonstrated how verbatim dialogue and specific cultural textures could create compelling, universal theatre.
Gayathiri Kamalakanthan's journey from audience member to acclaimed writer underscores the profound ripple effect of groundbreaking work like Barber Shop Chronicles. Staged at London's Roundhouse in 2019, Ellams' play continues to empower new voices to share their own unique chronicles with the world.
