On Friday, March 31, the Connecticut Repertory Theater held an astounding and staggering performance of “Death and the Maiden,” written by Ariel Dorfman and directed by Gary English. The play previewed on March 23 and had showings from March 24 – April 2.
“Death and the Maiden” is set in an “unnamed country emerging from a totalitarian dictatorship,” according to the CRT website. With a cast of only three characters, Paulina (Samantha Seawolf), Gerardo (Alex Winnick) and Roberto (Paul Flores), the tone of the play was immediately established from beginning to end. The play was also recommended for mature audiences due to its exploration of adult themes, including suicide and sexual violence, and the use of a prop firearm.
“Here in the studio theater, we have a space in which we as a community can engage in some of the most challenging and difficult questions that face us as a society,” said CRT Artistic Director Megan Monaghan Rivas, before the play began. “We believe that the art form of theater provides a mechanism and a venue through which thought and emotion can travel and people can connect.”
In the first scene, Paulina, married to Gerardo, grabs a gun and hides after she and the audience see a car drive by and the sound of men talking. As Gerardo enters the house, Paulina relaxes. He explains that a man came to help him after he got a flat tire. Paulina, who was worried about her husband, begins to argue with Gerardo about how he should have fixed the spare tire before going out. This first scene suggested Paulina’s tragic past, causing her to be hesitant about who to trust.
In the following scene, Roberto comes by later that night to congratulate Gerardo after hearing about his appointment as the head of an investigative commission. Gerardo then offers Roberto to spend the night. Roberto agrees, but soon after Gerardo goes to bed, the audience learns Roberto is not a stranger to Paulina. Paulina eventually knocks Roberto unconscious, tying him to a chair. She believes this is the doctor who “tortured and raped her more than 20 years earlier,” as the CRT website explains.
“We have to ‘remember’ to achieve justice and ‘forget’ to achieve reconciliation,” said English.
Midway through, Gerardo tells Paulina they must let Roberto go since they cannot determine if he really is the man who tortured her, as she was blindfolded when it happened. Paulina discloses to Gerardo that she is positive it is Roberto, not only because of his voice but also his scent, the phrases he used when speaking and the tape of the Schubert Quartet in his car. During the attacks Paulina endured, the Schubert Quartet played.
“A State may know what the right thing to do is, but still denies a victim’s right, out of the force of some necessity,” English said in a CRT press release. “Enforced reconciliation without meaningful accountability then becomes just another form of oppression.”
English commented he always wanted to direct “Death and the Maiden” after having taught it in his course Theatre and Human Rights (DRAM/HRTS 3139) for some years. English found the play as a nearly perfect political performance regarding human rights.
When entering the theater, there were barely any leftover seats — Friday’s showing was almost sold out. The show was estimated to be an hour and 30 minutes, but was delayed and interrupted due to a fire alarm toward the end of the performance. While the hiatus lasted almost 10 minutes, firefighters gave the all-clear for the cast and guests to return inside.
The cause of the alarm was unknown.
“I thought the flashing lights were a part of the play,” said multiple guests while exiting the building.
When seated in the theater again, actors and crew members smoothly resumed the performance as if nothing had happened. They followed the saying, “The show must go on.”
The production of “Death and the Maiden” was co-sponsored by UConn’s Human Rights Institute. While the play does not have future showings, you can find updates on the CRT Facebook page for updates on their next production. With the use of different sound, visual effects from the crew and the strong use of emotion from the cast, the entire team makes any performance a must-see for everyone.
