WRITING
SULFUR BOTTOM
Full Length Stage Play, 3f 3m
Buoyed by the promise of jobs and economic development, a series of factories plague a small town. But with reports of dangerous chemicals leaking from the industrial plants, a young woman must make impossible choices to protect her loved ones. Set over 40 years, Rishi Varma’s new drama SULFUR BOTTOM sees an embattled family forced to confront generations of environmental injustice—and maybe just a few talking animals along the way.
SULFUR BOTTOM OFF-BROADWAY
Jerry Orbach Theatre, The Theater Center
EXTENDED RUN!
August 20, 2025 - October 25, 2025
TEN WEEKS
PRESS
CRITICAL RECEPTION
“Writer Rishi Varma digs deep into our collective dread by portraying three generations of one family who are trapped […] Fans of dystopian drama with a splash of absurdism will find a lot to love about the toxic town and the family’s odd way of reclaiming their lost land.”
- Austin Fimmano, New York Theater Guide
“Sulfur Bottom is a masterwork of memory and ecological conscience. In the hallowed tradition of dramatists who dare to excavate the buried truths of our industrial age, Rishi Varma’s Sulfur Bottom emerges as a profound theatrical achievement on its opening night.”
- Ed Kliszus, Opening Night Online
“Sulfur Bottom cuts into the underbelly of the world's ugliest problems from climate change to corporate greed, and it's the exact kind of theatre that the world needs right now […] Well worth seeing for its impactful message as well as its brilliant storytelling.”
- Natalie Hunter, The Mirror
“Sulfur Bottom will certainly make you think even as it engages attention and rolls on with fantasy-like wonderment. There’s absurdity here, sure, but it’s used in the time-honored tradition of exposing harsh realities; in this case the voracious, greed-fueled assault of Mother Earth.”
- Marilyn Lester, Nitlife Exchange
OTHER PROJECTS
BODY ON THE GREEN
Series — Pilot — Half Hour Comedy
After a painful breakup, Samir decides to write a novel about a man wrongly convicted on death row, hoping the ambitious project will win back his ex —— but as he dives deeper into the story, he begins to question his motives.
THE BARRED ZONE
Miniseries — Pilot — Hour Drama
In the early 20th century, a young man’s dangerous relationship with a shop worker, the search for a missing man, and a woman’s growing debt threaten to tear apart a Punjabi-Mexican community in Southern California, all while they face increasing pressure from law enforcement and disgruntled members of the county.
PAPER TRENCHES
Film — Drama
In 1917 San Francisco, Indian revolutionaries on trial for plotting to overthrow British rule are torn apart by internal divisions as their defiance tests their unity and resolve.
Coming Soon…