Six Characters in Search of an Author - Play November 26, 2008

Six Characters in Search of an Author - Play. Produced by Jadavpur University, Department of English.

As part of Vodafone Odeon 2008. Luigi Pirandellos Six Characters in Search of an Author, is one of the most influential plays of the 20th century. At its premiere in Rome (1921), spectators rioted because they thought it was immoral, that it broke the rules of conventional theatre, and that the company had cheated them. Only after other productions over the next few years did Pirandellos reputation as a radical dramatist spread across Europe and he won the Nobel Prize in 1934. Since then, it has become a standard in the international stage repertoire, the best-known example of metatheatre a play within a play.

It begins with a troupe in the midst of rehearsals for their new drama. Suddenly, unannounced, six people enter, claiming that their author has dumped them after creating their characters, and they want the company to perform their story. The play unfolds, with many a sensational twist and turn. While doing so, it touches upon the many human aspects that have fascinated its viewers: identity, social compulsions, relativity of values, the nature of reality, life versus art, the constant flux of existence. Yet, it never fails to entertain, always engaging and riddling the audience by contrasting the performance of truth with the truth of performance. Direction: Ananda Lal.