First performed on stage in 1991, Ariel Dorfman’s political thriller Death and The Maiden is the dramatic exploration of a country’s uneasy transition from dictatorship to democracy.  

 One dark night, the husband’s car breaks down and he is given a lift home by a friendly stranger.  His wife believes she recognizes the stranger‘s voice— is he the torturer who raped her some years before?  She subdues the stranger and puts him forcibly on trial for crimes against the state.   

The play asks hard questions about compatriots living in a restored democracy: How can those who tortured and those who were tortured co-exist in the same land?  What of justice and equality in a military dictatorship?  How do we forget the past regime without risking its recreation in the future? Is it legitimate to sacrifice truth to ensure peace?   

The play also asks a universal question about humanity: How do we reach the truth when lying has become a habit? 

Death and The Maiden is a pertinent and important piece today. How may we as Canadians discourage military sanctioned violence and torture abroad if we do not recognize torture in our  own society? How many women, children and men have been tortured, yet our state accuses their perpetrators only of abuse? 

Death and The Maiden warns us of what happens when democracy fails and torture becomes a political tool.

Death and the Maiden

Playwright: Ariel Dorfman

Director:     Deborah Frankel

Producer:   Margaret Lamarre

Starring:     Amber Mackereth, Scott McCulloch, Andrew McGillivray

Venue:        Red Sandcastle Theater, 922 Queen St E.

Dates:         Feb 27, 28 Mar 1,2 @ 8:00 PM/Mar 3 @ 2:00 PM

Price:          $20.00

Event Contact Details:

416-84509411

redsandcaastletheatre.com

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