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Past Program

Avalanche

'Avalanche’ is a three-act play with unity of time, space, and action. The characters are referred to as Man, Woman, Old Man, and so forth. The focus lies on subdued actions and hushed speech, highlighting the oppressive atmosphere. The play is set in a mountain village, which spends nine months under the constant threat of an avalanche. During this period, people communicate only in whispers, and births are prohibited, with procreation carefully timed to respect these restrictions. Any deviation from these rules can result in severe punishments, including the live burial of expectant mothers. The commonly held belief about these people is that they continue to exhibit this reserved and timid nature when in cities, which has led to them performing arduous labor for minimal compensation, often seen as a sign of their loyalty.

The play vividly portrays two contrasting characters: the Old Man, who has lived a life of silence and can only lament the loss of his years, and the Young Man and Young Woman, who, with their futures ahead of them, struggle to conform to this silence, becoming disruptive elements within the system. The play effectively illustrates the various methods used to silence the populace under the guise of the greater good, ultimately resulting in the disintegration of the very community it seeks to protect.

Supported by WSS and Design Stack

Date: 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 December 2023

Time: 6 PM - 7:40 PM