HYDERABAD : City-based theatre group Shudrka-Hyderabad held a Hindi play ‘Ek Durachari Raja (The story of a despot)’ at Lamakaan in Banjara Hills recently. Inspired by Albert Camus’ ‘Caligula’ play, it represents the face of contemporary despotism, not only in terms of the whimsical madness of rulers but also of how people react to such rule with a glimmer of hope for the future.
It is the most human of stories and most tragic of errors. Faithless to humanity out of faith in himself, the king accepts to die for having understood that no one can save himself and that one cannot be free while opposing humanity. Elements of head masks and percussion instruments were also used to add a narrative to the entire performance. The masks were used to establish the different moods and visuals of the play.