‘Foal’ – Fantasy series screen actor Amar Chadha-Patel makes stage debut in world premiere production…
Best known for his roles in Netflix and Disney + dramas, the star explains why he’s stepping onto the stage now…
By Suman Bhuchar
AMAR CHADHA-PATEL is not just an actor but also a filmmaker and musician who steps onto the stage professionally for the first time in a world premiere production that is Titas Halder’s play, ‘Foal’ in London.
Chadha-Patel has a considerable portfolio but people will know him mostly from starring in the Netflix series ‘The Decameron’ (inspired by 14th century writer Giovanni Boccaccio’s short stories) and the Disney+ fantasy adventure series, ‘Willow’.
Foal’ is a solo show, directed by Annie Kershaw and Chadha-Patel plays, A.K.
It is described as “a revenge thriller set in the era of the Sony Walkman; a lyrical, urgent new play about masculinity, compassion, and retribution”.
“I would say those are good buzzwords to highlight some of the plot points,” he told www.asianculturevulture.com
“It’s about examining those various facets of a South Asian man. So, the ideas of compassion, masculinity, defence against racism in this country – how all of those things can coalesce into shaping a person.”
Chadha-Patel has worked as a musician and film director and only began acting over a decade ago. He tells acv that in his career he has always sought out non South Asian parts.
“I have always tried to play roles written for white men because they are more three dimensional.
“This is one of the rare instances, where I have been given something where a character is fully fleshed out.
“Titas has written this role to account for a lack of South Asian male leads in media, film and theatre.
“His South ‘Asianness’ is both incidental to his existence but also defines his character in a really meaningful way. He hoped it would resonate with me. And it did.”
Born and brought up in London, Chadha-Patel appeared as child actor in Gurinder Chadha’s film ‘Bhaji on the Beach’ (1993) where he played, Amrik the young child whose mother, Ginder (Kim Vithana) is escaping a violent abusive husband, Ranjit played by Jimmi Harkishin.
As he recalled it, “my main memory of it is running away from Jimmy under the pier with a teddy bear during a scene and being told not to look at the camera.
“I remember being fascinated with the world of film which was beautiful and crazy and as a child, I wanted to be a part of that.”
‘Bhaji on the Beach’ was an important part of my history and a seismic piece of cinema, he pointed out.
“I come from the era of escapist cinema. I grew up on the Indiana Jones’s ‘Star Wars’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ all of these, film and television shows that are now populated with problematic white men but when I was a kid I saw escapism,” he explained.
“I never set out to be an actor, I studied production design at Wimbledon College of Arts, which is a legendary place.”
He told acv he wanted to be in the art department, because that is where he felt there was a tangible world for him to be able to create things with his hands.
This led on to him picking up a camera, learning to edit and becoming a director doing fashion, commercials and music videos.
I have always been a dive in the deep end sort of person, he affirmed.
“So whilst directing, friends would put me into music videos, I did a lot of comedy sketches and alongside I had a band. “
This was the electro Indie music band, Strong Indian Mothers.
“I was loving all of these and when I started acting I wasn’t a jobbing actor, I was making good money as a commercials’ director but I loved performing, so I just said yes to anything that seemed totally unique and new to me.”
Chadha-Patel explained that he enjoyed not having “to define myself by my skin colour or my heritage, or my stories, I was trying to fit into the stories that I wanted to be a part of – stories I grew up with and that chimed well with the need to diversify in our industry.”
He is passionate about the fact that the creative industry needs to diversify because “it’s not just about seeing people of colour, it’s about lived experience and new lived experience brings new definition to work”.
“It does not mean I have to step on camera and say I am a brown man, it just means when I step on camera, I inhabit a role that maybe was not written for me. I bring a lived experience that is unique because I come from a background that the writer didn’t know about.”
This is why playing a main role as Thraxus Boorman in the ‘Willow’ (2022-2023) or Dioneo in ‘The Decameron’ (2024) is a crucial part of his acting life – which he supposed sent a subliminal message to the industry.
“So, that the next time we look back we can say, but it happened.”
Although he has no proof, he believes that “a large part of me being cast in ‘Willow’ owes itself to Dev Patel doing ‘The Green Knight’ because for the first time we saw a South Asian man swing a sword in the mediaeval world and suddenly it wasn’t a strange thing for Hollywood executives, so that conversation disappears on that table.”
“So, I have always chased these big things because I want to make statements, I belong, we belong in that world,” he stated.
‘Foal’ is another one of these milestones, he believes.
Chadha-Patel describes it as a psychological drama with elements of Netflix comedy special.
“It represents to me a challenge, a nurturing and a re-examining of my craft. Theatre should be thought provoking and intense.”
Halder has Indian origin parents and is associate artistic director at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Actor Indira Varma is a producer on the show.
Listing
‘Foal’ from (May 5)- May 30 by Titas Halder at 118 Finborough Road, London, SW10 9ED
Tickets/Info: https://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/productions/foal
90 minutes – No interval
