<p>The Pillowman’, a play by Martin McDonagh, will be staged at the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore on April 20, 21 and 22. The drama is a dark comedy, which tells the story of Katurian, a fiction writer in a totalitarian state. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Katurian is being interrogated because of some disturbing parallels that emerge between the gruesome content of his short stories and a number of recent child murders which have taken place in his town. The play tackles a variety of subjects, including child abuse, women’s rights and family, as well as exploring the right of free speech and the role of uncensored art in society. <br /><br />While some of these issues are timely, others are ever-relevant. The questions put forward by Katurian in the play have a strong sense of a world in despair. Through his stories, the viewer is forced to confront aspects of the animal within humans, which aren’t discussed in polite society. At the end of the day, ‘The Pillowman’ isn’t about solutions — rather, it pierces through questions that society would rather ignore, and wonders whether one can accept that as a society, we have a long way to go.<br /><br />In fact, the play received the 2004 Olivier Award for ‘Best New Play’, the 2004-05 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for ‘Best New Foreign Play’ and two Tony Awards for <br />production.<br /><br /> It is brought to the audience by ‘The Renegade Arts & Theatre Society’, and the proceeds will go into helping ‘Stree Jagriti Samiti’, an organisation which champions the cause of domestic workers and fights for their labour rights and employment benefits. <br /><br />The play has been directed by Siddharth Selvaraj, who is the co-founder of ‘Studio 33’, a Bangalore-based production house. In a career that spans a decade, he has produced over 20 theatrical presentations, 16 short fiction films, three documentaries, three seasons of television programming and two seasons of talk-radio. For details, log on to www.ratsbangalore.co.cc<br /></p>
<p>The Pillowman’, a play by Martin McDonagh, will be staged at the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore on April 20, 21 and 22. The drama is a dark comedy, which tells the story of Katurian, a fiction writer in a totalitarian state. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Katurian is being interrogated because of some disturbing parallels that emerge between the gruesome content of his short stories and a number of recent child murders which have taken place in his town. The play tackles a variety of subjects, including child abuse, women’s rights and family, as well as exploring the right of free speech and the role of uncensored art in society. <br /><br />While some of these issues are timely, others are ever-relevant. The questions put forward by Katurian in the play have a strong sense of a world in despair. Through his stories, the viewer is forced to confront aspects of the animal within humans, which aren’t discussed in polite society. At the end of the day, ‘The Pillowman’ isn’t about solutions — rather, it pierces through questions that society would rather ignore, and wonders whether one can accept that as a society, we have a long way to go.<br /><br />In fact, the play received the 2004 Olivier Award for ‘Best New Play’, the 2004-05 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for ‘Best New Foreign Play’ and two Tony Awards for <br />production.<br /><br /> It is brought to the audience by ‘The Renegade Arts & Theatre Society’, and the proceeds will go into helping ‘Stree Jagriti Samiti’, an organisation which champions the cause of domestic workers and fights for their labour rights and employment benefits. <br /><br />The play has been directed by Siddharth Selvaraj, who is the co-founder of ‘Studio 33’, a Bangalore-based production house. In a career that spans a decade, he has produced over 20 theatrical presentations, 16 short fiction films, three documentaries, three seasons of television programming and two seasons of talk-radio. For details, log on to www.ratsbangalore.co.cc<br /></p>
