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Mandy Khoshnevisan and Nathan Dunkin Photo by Casey Campbell Photography |
By Tina Arth
For its first show of 2018, Bag & Baggage presents the
fierce, thought provoking, and utterly compelling Death and the Maiden. Playwright Ariel Dorfman’s 1991 drama
explores the problem of how we, as individuals and as a social and political
body, deal with the after effects of a period of oppression – how do we heal
the victims, sanction the abusers, and move on to reintegrating both sides into
a functioning society? While the play is clearly based on two survivors of
Augusto Pinochet’s 17-year reign of terror in Chile, it could easily have been
written about post-Nazi Germany or, on a less overtly catastrophic scale, about
the “Me Too” movement and our efforts to deal with millennia of subjugation of
women. Where there are no independent witnesses and the accused denies the
charge, do we believe the victim?
Dorfman tells the story of Paulina Salas, a fictional Latin
American woman who encounters Roberto Miranda, the man who (she believes) tortured
and raped her 15 years earlier as an agent of a repressive political regime.
Although she never actually saw her abuser, she recognizes his voice, smell,
even the feel of his skin – there is no doubt in her mind that Miranda is
guilty. A shaky democracy has been restored, and Salas’ lawyer husband, Gerardo
Escobar, has just been appointed to a commission to investigate the worst
excesses of the previous administration. Much to Escobar’s horror, Paulina pulls a gun,
then binds and gags Miranda in the couple’s living room so that she can “try”
him for his crimes. Not only does Escobar doubt his wife, but as a
representative of the newly restored democracy he is committed to reinstituting
the rule of law, although he knows that the commission will serve in large part
to whitewash the vast majority of the dictatorship’s crimes. As the story
progresses, Paulina becomes increasingly threatening, and Gerardo (uncertain
about Miranda’s guilt or innocence, but certain that Paulina’s approach is
wrong) ultimately talks Miranda into “confessing” to save his life.
Mandan Khoshnevisan (Paulina), Nathan Dunkin (Gerardo), and
Anthony Green (Miranda) give commanding performances, and the contrast between
their styles allows the story to flow with unbroken tension, yet not seem like
a one-note show. As the dismayed husband, Dunkin displays a constantly shifting
combination of frustration, disbelief, egotism, and solicitous compassion for a
woman he obviously loves, yet cannot trust. The moment when he begins to
consider the possibility that Miranda may actually be guilty is brilliant –
just a flash of insight that comes and goes so quickly that he barely
acknowledges it even to himself. Green’s performance is colored by shifting
emotional reactions as he consistently denies his guilt – self-righteousness,
anger, pleading, wheedling, conniving, just convincing enough that we are kept
a little uncertain. However, it is Khoshnevisan who delivers a real tour de
force. It’s a total joy watching her discard 15 years of terrified victimhood
as she claims power over Miranda; she displays a wicked sense of humor, and her
fiery strength and often-sadistic attitude drive home the message that karma’s
a bitch. While there are elements of ambiguity about the conclusion, it is
absolutely clear in the final scene that she has found the healing she sought,
and we can only rejoice with her.
Jim Ricks-White, Jeffery A. Smith, and Tiffany Rousseau have
teamed up on sound, lighting and technical design to make the walls of The
Vault a place of magic as the ocean, impossibly starry nights, and a small
taste of a Schubert concert surround the audience with the evocative sights and
sounds of a South American coastline.
While Bag & Baggage Associate Artistic Director has
co-directed several previous productions, Death
and the Maiden is the first show she has handled as solo director. It was a
challenging maiden voyage that she handled beautifully; Greer and her team have
delivered a powerful show that lingers long after the lights go out.
Death and the Maiden is
playing at The Vault, 350 E. Main Street, Hillsboro, through March 25th, with
7:30 p.m. performances Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and 2:00 p.m. Sunday
matinees.
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