KOCHI: The space given to the amateur theatre groups is very less and often people present plays in their vernacular languages. To break this barrier and experiment with the techniques of presenting a drama in a powerful way is the aim of this theatre maestro. T M Abraham, a reputed Malayalam playwright and theatre director has come out with his new venture Death and the Maiden, a play in English.
The original play is written by Ariel Dorfman, a Chilean playwright and a human right’s activist. Abraham who has directed the play did not choose it instantly. He says, “It was ten years back that I read this book ‘Death and the Maiden’. I was struck by the very idea on which the entire plot was framed.It was something that could happen anywhere. Hence, I thought of staging this play so that people can also experience it visually.” This is the first time that Abraham is directing a play in English.
The 75-minute play is an unusual theatre experience accompanied by volcanic outbursts of emotions. Produced by Chavara Theatre Academy, the cast includes Pooja as Paulina Salas, Sharat Menon as Gerardo Escobar and Frank Davis as Roberto Miranda.The play starts with a woman awaiting the return of her husband, who is a lawyer, as the sun goes down. The dictatorship that plagued her land has just fallen, and everything is uncertain.
The woman is gripped by a secret terror that she only shares with the man she loves. The woman has to confront the fear and bring to light the doctor she believes is responsible for having tortured and raped her years ago. And her husband has to defend the accused man. Abraham says, “In this play, there is a deep study done on ‘rape’. Paulina Salas, the main protagonist and a political prisoner is brutally raped in custody during the emergency period. She finds out the people who raped her through their scent. This part of the play interested me the most.”
Abraham has been in theatre for several years and he says, “ I have often seen that no theatre group from Kerala participates in English film festivals. There is no support for the amateur theatre groups and the technical aspects also pose a huge problem. I directed this play with the intention of creating awareness about the beautiful plays in English.” Abraham is also known for his directorial ventures Aham-Aham, Antigone, Oedipus, Thuglaq, Waiting for Godot etc. He is also the former Vice Chairman of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi. The play will be staged at Kerala Fine Arts Hall on March 3 at 6.15 pm.