Death and the Maiden
by Ariel Dorfman
This play was written by Ariel Dorfman after his seventeen years of exile from Chile during the reign of General Augusto Pinochet. The play explores the effects of this repressive regime on three people, their relationships, their lives and, one hopes, their ultimate survival. The subject matter being hard hitting and explicit is not for the faint-hearted. Nevertheless it is a terrifying, moral thriller, combining brilliant theatricality with clear thought and fierce compassion.
Death and the Maiden is about a woman, Paulina Salas, who believes that a stranger who comes to her home is the doctor who, under a military dictatorship, tortured and raped her many years before. (The play's title is taken from a piece of music by Franz Schubert; Paulina loved the piece but grew to revile it when it was played repeatedly during her torture sessions.)
Years later, after the repressive regime has fallen, Paulina lives in an isolated country house with her husband, Gerardo Escobar. When Gerardo comes back from a visit to the president, he gets a flat tyre. A stranger named Dr. Miranda stops to assist him. Dr. Miranda drives Gerardo home and later in the night he returns. Paulina recognizes Miranda's voice and mannerism as that of her rapist, and takes him captive in order to put him on trial and extract a confession from him.
Performances from 14th to 19th March 2011