TORONTO, October 25, 2002 -- Theatre @ York launches its season with Ariel Dorfman’s riveting drama Death and the Maiden, directed by Antonio Ocampo-Guzman, opening October 29 at York University.
A provocative and potent moral drama, Death of the Maiden takes place in an unidentified Latin American country following the fall of a brutal military dictatorship. The intense three-actor play chronicles the story of a woman whose life collides by chance with that of the man she believes raped and tortured her sadistically years earlier when she was a student activist. Certain she recognizes his voice, she kidnaps him and with her husband, incidentally the country’s new Minister of Justice, proceeds to put him on trial in captivity.
Initially, we wonder whether or not the man in question is guilty, but Dorfman’s award-winning play forces us to confront the more complex issues of justice, retribution and forgiveness. Both disturbing and beguiling, Death and the Maiden radiates a vertigo-like tension, and challenges us to thoughtfully consider the nature of evil and whether a progressive society should punish or pardon it.
For director Ocampo-Guzman, these questions have a highly personal resonance.
"Can I forgive those who have contributed to the moral, social and economic decay of my country?" he says. "Can I forgive myself for abandoning my family and friends and insisting on creating a safer life for myself in the North?"
Ocampo-Guzman originally trained as an actor with the Teatro Libre in his native Bogotá, Colombia. He subsequently joined Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts as an actor and a member of the company’s team of artist- managers. In 1996 he joined the faculty of the Department of Performing Arts at Emerson College in Boston as an Artist-in-Residence. He is currently pursuing an MFA in Directing and a Graduate Diploma in Voice Teaching in York University’s Graduate Theatre Program.
Theatre @York productions showcase the talents of students within the Department of Theatre's undergraduate and graduate programs. The cast for Death and the Maiden is drawn from the Graduate Acting Ensemble and features Samantha Wilson, Michael MacDonald and Richard Stewart. Set, sound and costume design are by fourth-year student Scott Penner, with lighting design by Halle Stephens.
| Where: | Atkinson Studio Theatre, 102F Atkinson College |
| York University, 4700 Keele St. |
| When: | Previews Sun. Oct. 27 & Mon. Oct. 28, 7:30 pm |
| Opens Tues. Oct. 29 and runs through Sat. Nov. 2 at 7:30 pm | |
| matinees Wed. Oct. 30 and Fri. Nov. 1 at 1:00 pm |
| Admission: | $12, students/seniors $8, group rate $5 |
| Box Office: | tel 416-736-5172 ext. 3 |
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For further information, please contact:
| Nathalie-Roze Fischer |
| Communications, Faculty of Fine Arts |
|
York University |
| 416-736-2100 ext. 20421 |
| nfischer@yorku.ca |
