A play portraying the classics of Victor Hugo, The last Day of the Condemned Man was staged here on Friday at Shaheed Bhawan auditorium.
Notably, The last Day of the Condemned Man is a short French novel written by Victor Hugo that was first published in year 1829. The play was directed by a French lady Gladys Clain and was wonderfully presented by the artists of ‘O’ther Theatre Group.
Notably, Gladys has worked on classics earlier as well and has done costume designing of the theatrical presentation of Antigone which was staged at Shaheed Bhawan. Worked with the under privileged children of Muskaan, Gladys has come up with another directorial classic and presented it before the theatre lovers of the city.
The story surrounds the wishes and hidden thoughts of a condemned man. It recounts the thoughts of a man condemned to die. Victor Hugo wrote this novel to express his feelings that the death penalty should be abolished.
A man who has been condemned to death by the guillotine in 19th century France writes down his cogitations, feelings and fears while awaiting his execution. His writing traces his change in psyche to the world outside the prison cell throughout his imprisonment, and describes his life in prison, everything from what his cell looks like to the personality of the prison priest. He does not betray his name or what he has done to the reader, though he vaguely hints that he has killed someone.
On the day he is to be executed he sees his three-year-old daughter for the last time, but she no longer recognizes him, and tells him that her father is dead. The story ends just after he briefly but desperately begs for pardon and curses the people of his time, the people he hears outside, screaming impatiently for the spectacle of his decapitation.
With strong acting skills and the costume and set designing, the audiences watched the play with rapt attention. It was a zestful presentation that was staged for the first time before the theatre-goers of the city.