Ira Dubey on 'Death and the Maiden': ‘Anyone who has ever suffered can understand what trauma can do to a marriage…’ | EXCLUSIVE

Ira Dubey stars as Paulina Salas in the NCPA Mumbai production of Ariel Dorfman's thriller Death and the Maiden. Directed by Bruce Guthrie, the play features Dubey as a former political prisoner who takes justice into her own hands when she suspects her visitor is her former torturer. She talks to Firstpost on being a method actor and more.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

 What was the research that went behind it?

To begin with, we are working with a terrific script - just in terms of how well, how beautifully crafted it is, so a lot of the work is already done by the words Ariel Dorfman has given us! Yes, it helps to know the etymology of the title - the significance in the western cultural cannon of literature, art and music, the title is not only the name of a very famous piece of classical music composed by Schubert and relevant to the play as a very vivid association Paulina Salas has, but also a poem and at least two classical paintings of the same name. And they all deal with the same one theme- conversation that a young maiden has with a visitor - the character of death - which is also an idea, echoes through the play in multiple ways.

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The text is set in Chile in 1991, when it was coming out of seventeen years of dictatorship but it could well be any country who’s been through a similar political fate, or even any country today - not all countries that claim to be democracies are that, many masquerade as that but are actual dictatorships as we are acutely aware even decades later. So yes, reading about and doing research on Pinochet and his regime, the torture and persecution of political prisoners was an integral part of the starting research but then it was about the world of the play and these three characters whose journeys are startlingly universal. The themes of justice, truth, accountability, trauma are universal. But Paulina, for me, is a warrior not a victim, a survivor who takes matters into her hands because the powers that be, failed to. There is agency here- right or wrong is up to the audience. And for me, that was important to understand. On a human level. Her husband has the chance to get justice for not just her, but for everyone and she wants that. She was an activist, a medical student, whose life and future were taken from her in one moment, and she wants her revenge- without exactly knowing what is. And the journey of that is what makes her fascinating, for me as an actor.

Ira Dubey on Death and the Maiden play

What was the method of getting into the character of Paulina Salas?

Anyone who has ever suffered can understand what trauma can do, to a marriage, to a human being, so once the socio-political, and cultural context became clear, I immersed myself in finding her, as a woman and a survivor. As an actor you have to be creative, you are the character, and in that situation and in that relationship, that’s your truth. That’s all! So once all the food is there, once you create the character, you have to listen and be free. My training is of the ‘Method’, which is highly misunderstood and I’ve worked with a wonderful coach, Thierry Bleu for five years. Add to that a fine director who knows his craft so deeply and gives us the space to discover these characters, and I think that’s the real research - of a safe space with room to play and find the truth of your character.

Did you watch the Death and the Maiden movie?

No, I haven’t seen the movie. And now find that it’s too late, it’s just a choice as a performer to not watch it. At some point in the future, I might. I haven’t even seen a theatre production of it. I read the script a decade ago and loved it and it was then just lying on my shelf till about two years ago- when I took it to the NCPA for a co-production and Bruce decided to direct it, I was delighted not just as an actor but to partner with him and the NCPA. He has put together an incredible team including Emilia, Andrew, Vivek, Neil and many more. Indian audiences are going to be riveted, even those who loved the film, will be in for a treat. We are all very excited. And the house is full already!

A still from the play 'Death and the Maiden'

How much do you relate to the character of Paulina Salas?

Well, there are always so many parts of you in a character and so many not, that’s the work of an actor to use their craft, technique and imaginations and put themselves in the circumstances of the play, and be real. It’s much more complex and sophisticated than most people think!

For Paulina, the fact that there’s a woman who has suffered but didn’t fall apart, who has love in her life, and companionship despite the darkness she may carry, who is a warrior at heart and a humanitarian too, these are all aspects I can relate to. I’ve said this before, I’m really attracted to characters that have suffered, transformed and survived - that’s probably why I chose a piece like 9 Parts to Desire to- life and being human is complex and full of suffering, it’s our capacity to transcend and recognise our own humanity that is the only thing that lasts, the only legacy we leave behind. And in this case, reminding people what accountability and justice should feel like. One can only hope this is the kind of play that gives you a lot to take home.