Play to depict power struggle and religious manipulation

New Delhi, Feb 20
 What happens when a godman takes over a family and the devotee blindly follows his sermons, sacrificing the wishes of his own family and going against them?

The eeriness of this complex situation will viewed from different situations in a play “Tartuffe”(The Imposter) which will be staged in the capital Feb 28 and March 1 at the Sri Ram Centre in the capital.

Directed by the renowned K. Madavane, who had previously staged this play in the capital in 1987, its context has a universal appeal that will always resonate with the global audiences.

And a testimony of this is that the play is based on one of the most popular works penned by Moliere, the French monarch of comedy.

“I am curious to know how the audience will react this time. When it was staged in '87, it was a revolution in itself,” Madavane told IANS.

The reason for the play to be revolutionary two decades ago was the technique the Delhi-based director had implied to make it a moving act.

“The actors are on the wheel so this moving activity hints at the tension within the family. My main characters express the anguish with their body moments and this is why they are almost running on the sets,
but on the wheel,” said the retired professor, who taught at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Madavane has directed more than 100 plays in English, Hindi, French and German. His main directorial ventures are “Tughlaq” “The Infernal Machine” and “The Mahabharata of Women”.

The play would open up with a godman taking over a family and how the head of the family blindly follows the godman so much so that he is willing to marry his daughter to the aged man against her wishes.

“What I am trying to tell through this story is that the godman alone isn't the only culprit. The father, who is exploiting his position in the family, should equally be held responsible for the vile act,” said Madavane.