The War Within

“How do they reconcile themselves with this intruder? The main issue for this performance is the stranger and how we as individuals react differently to strangers. The other big issue I wanted to confront was that of responsibility and blame and how we start doubting our loved ones when faced with a tough situation,” says Hermen. In this production, she and her troupe, Clipa Theatre, collaborated with Teatr Novogo Fronta (TNF) from the Czech Republic.

The 80-minute play was also striking for its use of props — a mattress, chairs, a knife, a tin cup, a plastic bottle, a steel wire, a broom and a mopping cloth play — that acquire innovative meanings. Among the most striking was the use of the string, held taut by chairs, to create music.

Acoustics play an important part, especially in the scene in which the intruder and the husband have a banal conversation. “While the play is largely non-verbal, two instances of dialogue have been inserted as a musical interface. The dialogues are deliberately kept banal since I enjoy playing with such phrases,” adds Hermen, adding that the shocking nude segments were removed from the Indian staging of the play.

While the play is not overtly political, it does play with the personal space. “We can identify with a couple. It is the smallest unit. I am not giving a message here. Rather I am posing a question to the audience, how will I react differently in this situation?” she says.