Themes of nationality, human rights, justice, and manipulation of the truth are explored in Death and the Maiden, a timely and thought-provoking drama opening at The Vortex Theatre on Friday, May 9, 2008 and playing for 4 weekends through June 1.

Synopsis
Paulina, the wife of a prominent lawyer, lives quietly in an isolated, rural area of an unnamed, democratic, South American country.  Even 15 years later, she is haunted by memories of her past where, as a political prisoner, she was ordered to be raped and tortured by a man she heard speak but was prevented from ever seeing.

Her husband, Gerardo, experiences car trouble one night and is helped home by a charitable physician, Dr. Miranda. Upon meeting him, Paulina recognizes his voice, believing Miranda to be the man responsible for her torture. She subsequently takes him captive, compelling her husband to improvise a “trial” by which she plans to extract her revenge. Doubtful of Miranda's guilt, Gerardo acquiesces, contriving to secure Miranda's freedom while bringing peace to his wife's tormented past.

About this Production
Death and the Maiden tells a powerful story about a part of world history that is often overlooked. Unfortunately, is has become timely again in light of recent and current world events. The play's author, Ariel Dorfman, is himself a Chilean exile who fled the regime of Augusto Pinochet, the Chilean president known for his successful economic reforms, executed along side the dismantling of state welfare institutions, violations of civil liberties, suppression of opposing political views, and human rights abuses.

The script is well suited to the intimate Vortex space but does contain adult language and is not suitable for children. It is a realistic play that deals with issues that, while difficult, are also issues that reflect today's world.

 

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