The play ‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’ will be staged on January 30 at Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh. It will start at 6:30 pm

ANSHUL N SHARMA

Accidental Death of an Anarchist is an acclaimed play written by an Italian playwright and Nobel Prize winner, Dario Fo. Considered as a classic of 20th century theatre, the play has been performed across the world in more than 40 countries. Several years ago Karl Marx knocked our mind by delineating through his art that religion numbs our conscience. The Italian playwright, Darion Fo after 127 years through his play brilliantly exposed what had become the new drug for the masses. The play will be staged on January 30 at Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh, will start at 6:30 pm. The play is based on a real incident that occurred in 1969, in which an anarchist railway worker Gluseppe Pinelli, who was arrested in connection with a terrorist bombing in Milan, fell to his death from a fourthstorey window at police headquarters during the course of an interrogation. While the death of an anarchist was officially declared a suicide, the police reports held obvious contradictions. Subsequent interrogations revealed the probable innocence of the worker. Though the play was originally written by an Italian playwright, the play has been translated into Hindi and is completely adapted as per Indian scenario (corruption) by Amitabh Srivastav. Srivastav is an almunus of Madhya Pradesh School of Drama. Play director Arun Thakur in his direction has weaved all the dialogues so well that they automatically make the audience to ponder upon the working of existing four pillars of the democracy.

The play challenges the way system ploys the general public through its indirect mischievous acts. The cast of the play comprises eight artistes from Satvik Arts Theatre Group. Shivam Dhall, a writer, poet and a renowned theatre artiste of Chandigarh, is playing the main character ‘Sanaki.’ Sanaki is basically an honest reporter trying to solve the murder case of an anarchist railway worker. He has also written two songs in the play, however, Purnendu Bains has directed music in the play to catch up with the nerves of audience. The theme of the play is corruption. The plot beautifully unfolds the reality of how government, media and public are involved in corruption. The play romanticism its relationship with those in power; basically the four pillars of the democracy and the real strength of this art is in its performances, said Shivam. Shivam, who plays the reporter, says, “I am playing Sanaki in the play, which is an amazing as well as interesting character who is striving hard to solve the mysterious death case of an anarchist. He does not easily digest the information being given to him by cops blankly. Instead, he started investigating the case on his own up with smart means. And the audience ends up with the same questions that arise in reporter’s mind about the case. The play has two acts and initiates with a police station scene in which a reporter comes into the police station and starts to ask questions about the case of the death of an anarchist. The plot’s dialogues are written in such an organised way that they play with audience’s mind and leaves them questioning the real face of our system (corrupt).

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