The Pillowman, a play set in a totalitarian police state, follows Katurian – a writer of dark and gruesome stories – as he is questioned by two policemen – Ariel and Tupolski – in connection with the murder of three local children.
“How poetic is it that the author of a dark, twisted narrative becomes a character in a dark and twisted narrative that happens to be real life.” – Shaun Passey, the director.
The performance of The Pillowman – enacted in early December – featured a talented group of students, overseen by Shaun and Amy – the directors.
Upon being questioned about his interpretation of the play, Shaun responded: “I think, at its heart, it’s about stories, and about the relationship that the writer has with the story they write, the relationship between the reader and the story they read, and – ultimately – the relationship between the author and the reader. Who has the authority over interpretation? Does an author relinquish that authority the moment the work is published?”
The dark themes of the play are one of the many features that made the play stand out from its predecessors. Juxtaposing typical light-hearted school productions, The Pillowman explores themes of child abuse, the creation of art in restrictive climates, and the role of artists in society.
The play, having gone out with indications about the content that would be enacted, demonstrates gripping and enticing scenes. Something I wanted to uncover was why, especially given the darker themes, the directors chose this specific play to perform. “Having worked under four principals,” said Shaun, “none of them have ever shied away from tackling – providing it’s done appropriately – challenging subject matters. As an academic environment, we’re committed to getting people to look at all aspects of the world.”
Being set in a totalitarian society, the play explores freedom of expression and its consequences. This notion could be transferred to the society we live in; can we write about whatever we want or is it restricted? “I’m interested in what people say is and isn’t the proper subject matter of art,” Shaun executes. “People can’t always see past the brutality but if you are going to depict a totalitarian society or you’re going to make a comment on the abhorrence of colonialism, then you don’t paint a pretty picture because that would be inauthentic.”
No one would argue that The Pillowman is an incredibly memorable play. It’s a beautiful thing when a director’s mind is mirrored onto the stage.
“What I wanted to capture,” explained Shaun, “was that writers can’t help but write an autobiographical story, whether they’re conscious of it or not. And what was interesting was how the stories became pertinent. There’s one story told where you’ve got three people who’ve committed awful crimes, and of course you’ve got the focal character – a man who doesn’t know the crime that he’s been punished for. Katurian writes this story and, unbeknownst to him, in his future he’s going to be arrested for a crime that he’s going to struggle to understand. A story and play that seems irrelevant yesterday becomes incredibly pertinent now (either at a personal level or a socio-historical level).”
Theatre is not only about the product but also the experience. In my opinion, the memorability of a play is shaped by the chemistry of the cast. Tallulah claimed “working with the others was one of the best things; everyone was so dedicated and talented and easy to work with. They’re all very supportive, which made the whole process even better.”
Shaun, similarly, enjoyed working with the students, depicting it as “joyous”. “It was lovely to see students – initially quite tentative – develop a sense of openness; seeing everyone suggesting ideas and having them taken up was the real highlight. They all worked so hard on it, they needed to tell this story.”
The performance was one that lingers and, weeks later, I still think of it and how it impacted the audience. From the chemistry of the cast to the leadership of the directors, The Pillowman was a play to be remembered.