Annie Zaidi’s award winning play ‘Stifled (Untitled-1)’ is a bold and timely choice. Staged by Kalasuruchi on Aug. 17, in the month of our Independence Day, it lays bare the many dimensions of liberty — especially in relation to self-expression and creative freedom. It is reminiscent of George Orwell’s ‘1984’ published in 1949 — then futuristic.
According to Zaidi, the world she weaves in the play is “no longer a dystopian future, but the reality.” As the drama unfolds, layer by layer, the plot reveals the insidious manner in which the net of surveillance and control tighten. Three characters take centre stage, The writer, Vishwas (Dr. M.C. Manohar) and his wife, Dina (B.L. Sarala) interact with each other and with Satyajit (Lt. Col. Satish), a communication investigator, constantly on the edge, navigating a slippery ground in which every interface is calibrated and analysed for acceptable levels of ‘compliance.’
