Lotus Kay Featured in Environmental Play 'The Animals' Lawsuit Against Humanity' During 2024 Climate Week NYC
On Monday, September 23, during the 2024 Climate Week NYC, Earth Law Center hosted a live reading of the 1,000-year-old story “The Animals’ Lawsuit Against Humanity” at the AIA New York Center for Architecture. The play, which follows a group of animals who take humans to court for their poor treatment, alludes to the work of Earth Law Center and the broader Rights of Nature movement in ingraining the rights of animals and other natural entities into law. Lotus Kay was featured in the role of The Donkey.
Although its roots trace to India, Muslim scholars of a Sufi order in Iraq first wrote the story in the 10th century CE. Later, in the 14th century, the Christian king of Anjou ordered Rabbi Kalonymus ben Kalonymus to translate the Arabic version into Hebrew and Latin, and it has long been an important tale in Muslim and Jewish communities. Rabbi Anson Laytner and Rabbi Dan Bridge translated and adapted the story from Hebrew into English back in 2005. The theatrical reading of “The Animals’ Lawsuit Against Humanity” at Climate Week was the official debut of Laytner’s adaptation of the story into a play.
Said Lotus about her participation, "This story powerfully conveys the unfair way we view and treat animals, and the important message that animals and Nature should have rights—a perspective increasingly prevalent amongst youth. It is also wonderful to partner with an organization like the Earth Law Center, whose real work is representing the Earth and animals, who don’t have their own voice.”
Although “The Animals’ Lawsuit Against Humanity” is an ancient tale, its themes are especially valuable in light of the current ecological crisis, and speak to the ways in which legal systems can be used to enact rights for animals and ecosystems. In the play, humans move to an island previously inhabited only by animals and begin to exploit the animals for their own gain. Upset by their exploitation, the animals appeal to the King of the Jinn, who oversees a trial between the humans and animals. The trial itself is the focus of the play, as animals lament the human disregard for animal life, proclaiming, “There we are in the marketplace, being chopped up and sold, and that’s us! That’s our bodies, that’s our babies!” On the other side, some of the play’s humans argue that animals are rightless entities ripe for unfettered human use, while other humans, who could be described as environmentalists, align with the animals’ arguments.
“The Animals’ Lawsuit Against Humanity” was produced by Liv Boren and Chris Dooly of Jack & Grace Productions.
The September 23, 2024 event was held at the AIA New York Center for Architecture. Photo by Katie G. Nelson
Lotus on stage in “The Animals Lawsuit Against Humanity.” She noted about the play: "This story powerfully conveys the unfair way we view and treat animals, and the important message that animals and Nature should have rights—a perspective increasingly prevalent amongst youth.”
Lotus and Grant Wilson, Executive Director of the Earth Law Center.
Lotus with script writer and author Rabbi Anson Laytner.