How to Explain the History of Communism to Mental Patients
This play written by Romanian Matei Visneic has an intriguing title. Visneic’s influences are Kafka and surrealist literature. Knowing this will give an idea of the play’s style. The play opens in an obvious way. A writer is sent to a mental institution to instruct the inmates on the benefits of Communism. It is set in 1953 and Stalin is depicted as a god like figure. Stalin’s drive to create utopia is the high ideal that the writer puts across to the inmates. As the play progresses, we witness the delusion this creates and we begin to wonder who is sane and mentally ill. After all, it was Stalin’s deluded logic that led to millions perishing in the drive to create the perfect society. The humour in the play is the absurdity of the situations that totalitarianism causes. Delusion becomes a normal way of life. The acting, lighting and direction are of a high order. It is not an easy play to follow at times, particularly towards the end because it does become more fantastic and surreal. ***