PAULINA

Paulina is a show freely inspired by Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden, and tells the story of the titular protagonist, a young woman married to lawyer Gerardo Escobar. The story is set in the late 80s in an unspecified country in Latin America, probably Chile, or any country that has recently overcome dictatorship. During this period of “terror,” abuses and violations were commonplace, and Paulina was indeed a victim of violence by pro-regime militants, and continues to live for 15 years with memories of the torture endured.

One evening Gerardo, after getting a flat tire, is given a ride home by a man, Dr. Roberto Miranda, who Paulina recognizes as one of the rapists, namely the leader, who would listen to Schubert’s Death and the Maiden repeatedly to make patients feel at ease. The woman seizes the opportunity to take her personal revenge. The story highlights the torments of a woman’s past living in the shadows of a society where politics fails to deliver justice, where politics and bureaucracy are detached and distant from the problems of the people.

A work that raises questions rather than answers: where does personal ethics end? What are we willing to pay to get what we want? What is society, and where does the line between human and inhuman end? Where does the truth hide? In the direction proposed by Davide Niccolini, on stage with Federica Trovato, the story is reviewed through acting, reading of some passages, and live music, trying to convey the complexity and drama of a story that unfortunately is more current than ever.