Film Industry: The Politics Of Patriarchy

The Politics Of Patriarchy

It was in the year 1881, when a Norwegian playwright by the name of Henrik Ibsen, wrote a dark, morbid play about a woman, who tries fighting patriarchy, in a man’s world. Considering that the story was penned down more than 130 years ago, at that time, it was nothing short of scandalous and Ibsen received strong criticism (reviewers and the public in general called the play a ‘revolting, suggestive, blasphemous and disgusting story’). Way ahead of its time; today Ghosts has been revisited by director-actor Salim Ghouse. In fact, this play had a run of 50 shows between 1986 to 1994, and is back on stage after 19 years.
As the title suggests, there aren’t any literal ghosts; the ghosts here are metaphors for our society’s orthodox, narrow-minded and lifeless beliefs (those which victimise women). In between, other issues like adultery, incest, sexual repression, religious bigotry are also explored. While some of these issues are still relevant today, how many of them actually manage to stir something within you through this play is questionable.
The good thing about Ghosts is that it starts on an interesting note, demanding all your attention; a theatre essential if you want to captivate the audience. Though there are only two members in the cast, Salim Ghouse and Anita Salim, both play multiple characters; in some acts, they enact them simultaneously, and execute it well. Case in point would be Ghouse, who plays the authoritarian Pastor Manders, as well as the wily Jacob Engstrand, alternating effortlessly within scenes. Complementing the title of the play is the background music, which is haunting —but beautiful. While the play starts on a good note, its biggest downside is that as it progresses, you start to lose interest. Some of the dialogues, especially Ghouse’s are rather incomprehensible. You’ll often find yourself concentrating and straining hard, to hear and understand what’s going on in the scenes, which can be exasperating.
REVIEW OF THE WEEK Play: Ghosts Directed by: Salim Ghouse Duration: 80 minutes Cast: Salim Ghouse and Anita Salim Language: English