Theatre preview: Death and the Maiden, a taut psychological thriller

Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman
Newmarket Stage Company
The Factory, Newmarket
May 28 to June 13

In a remote beach house an anxious woman waits. Her husband arrives accompanied by a mysterious stranger. The scene is set for Newmarket Stage Company’s production of Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden, a taut psychological thriller that questions beliefs, attitudes and responses.

The woman, Paulina Salas, is a former political prisoner who was tortured and raped by her captors, led by a sadistic doctor whose face she never saw. The stranger is Dr Roberto Miranda, who has given Paulina’s husband Gerardo Escobar a lift home. As the evening unfolds Paulina becomes convinced that Miranda is the sadistic doctor who raped her. She takes him captive intent on extracting a confession.

The play, directed by John Callen, will take audiences on a journey through the human psyche exploring themes such as fear, power, loyalty, betrayal, revenge, reconciliation and justice. Veteran actor George Henare is taking on the role of Miranda, and says he’s excited about the prospect of playing the baddie for a change. But is he really the manipulative and sadistic villain or merely the unwitting victim of a tormented woman with a lust for revenge?

Paulina will be played by Brazilian-born, New Zealand-based Tatiana Hotere. She feels she has a special connection with the character of Paulina given her South American roots. As a child growing up in Brazil she heard stories of relatives who had sheltered victims fleeing the oppressive dictatorships in neighbouring Chile and Argentina. As research for the role she spoke to an aunt who told her that some of those people the family sheltered are still living in fear.

Completing the trio is actor Edwin Wright, who plays Paulina’s husband Gerardo Escobar. Gerardo is a lawyer who has just been appointed to the commission investigating the deaths of dissidents under the previous oppressive regime. He will have the unenviable task of being the voice of reason amid the madness with his loyalties torn between the woman he loves and the reconciliation of his country.

Argentine-Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman wrote Death and the Maiden almost 25 years ago and the issues raised in the play remain relevant today with tyrannical regimes being replaced by another on the rise.

Newmarket Stage Company is presenting Death and the Maiden in association with Amnesty International New Zealand and is supported by the Newmarket Business Association.