Play on fascism’s brutality

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the stage adaptation of 1920 German silent horror film

Director-scenographer Deepan Sivaraman’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari , the stage adaptation of a 1920 German silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene, will be staged in Thrissur on October 13 and 14.

Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is about the brutal and irrational authority of fascism, which conditions the common man to behave like a soldier and prepares him even to kill.

The plot of

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari revolves around a young man, Francis, who recalls the horrors that have befallen him after the arrival of a mysterious man named Dr. Caligari at a village fair with a somnambulist called Cessare, who sleeps in a coffin. The murder of Francis’s friend Alan and the abduction of his fiancée Jane follow and a cruel bloodstain on his own hands.

The drama unfolds through a narrative technique interlaced with fine choreography and stunning visuals to induce horror and anxiety.

The cast of the play includes some of the best theatre performers from Delhi and Bengaluru, including the noted actor-producer Prakash Bare. Produced by Performance Art Collective – Delhi in collaboration with the NECAB (NSS Engineering College Alumni , Bengaluru) and the Blue Ocean Theatre – Bengaluru, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari will be performed at Bharat Murali Theatre, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Thrissur, to kick-start its pan-India performance tour covering major cities of the country.

The opening show will be at 7.15 p.m. on Friday, followed by two more shows at 6.15 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. on Saturday. The duration of the play is 1 hour 15minutes.