Death and the Maiden

This psychological drama is set in post-Pinochet Chile as that country transitioned from a long, brutal dictatorship to a democracy.

The setting for Dorfman’s play is a beach house owned by Paulina Salas and her husband, Gerardo Escobar, in which an overnight guest, Dr. Roberto Miranda, is staying. Paulina recognises Miranda’s voice as the man who tortured her several years ago and sets out to exact her revenge by tying Dr. Miranda to a chair and brutally interrogating him. This action angers her husband who has just been appointed to a truth commission to investigate crimes committed against humanity by the dictatorship.

The cast for this Cairns Little Theatre production is exceptionally strong. The demanding role of Paulina was brilliantly played by Chelsea Hayward, who captured the trauma and brutality to which her character has been subjected to perfectly. As Gerardo, Morgan Lewis gave a powerful performance as the confused husband, unsure of his wife’s judgement and stunned by her aggressiveness towards Dr. Miranda. The scenes between Lewis and Hayward were often tense and absorbing.

As Dr. Miranda, Mark Chivers was outstanding. At times calm and reassuringly innocent, at other times sinister and potentially violent. His performance and body language made it hard to ascertain whether he was Paulina’s torturer or not, which only added to the drama. The final scene, backed by the music of Franz Schubert, superbly captured the whole essence of the production.  

The actors made the play a believable experience to watch and fully deserved the enthusiastic applause at the end.

Matt O’Connor’s direction got the best out of the actors as the action unfolded on a minimal set, backed by excellent sound and lighting.

Ken Cotterill