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A powerful drama
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The story of Mozart is, at one level, a play of ideas
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CONFLICT OF IDEAS From Amadeus
Performed worldwide and translated into 22 languages, Peter Shaffer's psychological drama "Amadeus" has sparked off controversy ever since its first performance on November 2, 1979, at the National Theatre in London.
After reading the different scripts Shaffer experimented with and intensively studying the play and its main characters, director Michael Muthu chose the final version, usually acknowledged to be the darkest and most dramatic. The plot however remains the same, set in the 18th Century and yet powerful enough to captivate contemporary audiences.
For, Amadeus's strongest point is its mesmerising script. The play revolves around one of the world's most gifted composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Salieri, a court composer in the royal courts of Vienna.
A play of ideas, Amadeus probes universal, and often disturbing, themes that often transcend both their personalities. Shaffer touches upon aspects of psychology, theology, sociology and musicology in this play, integrating them all with the Mozart - Salieri conflict.
The play recreates the spirit of the late 18th Century, with action that covers more than 30 years. In the tradition of historical dramas, it depicts an age when two cultures are in conflict, one dying and the other being born. At the same time, it doesn't really attempt to recreate history since Shaffer merely makes use of historical places, personalities and events, in order to depict a psychological situation that can arise in any century.
Amadeus begins with a confession of murder and goes on to explain this action. Although the title suggests Mozart is the main protagonist, it is Salieri and not Mozart who occupies centre stage. And it is Salieri's mind that the audience is invited to enter, since he plays a narrator, telling his own story. So you see the action through his eyes, often clouded with envy, hate and pain. And as you are led deep into his mind, you experience his tragedies far more directly.
SHONALI MUTHALALY
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