Attempts on Her Life Directed by Neel Chaudhuri

Play

Martin Crimp’s Attempts on Her Life consists of 17 scenarios for the theatre that are absurd, shocking, and hilarious. The play explores early 21st-century obsessions ranging from ethnic violence and tabloid news to terrorism and advertisements. The script features no plot and virtually no stage directions, only designating changes of speaker. The stories revolve around a mysterious central figure known variously as Anne, Annie, Anaya, Anu, and Anushka, who never appears. Instead, various figures discuss her life, leaving her exact identity and status uncertain.

Director

Neel Chaudhuri is a playwright and theatre director based in New Delhi and a member and former Artistic Director of The Tadpole Repertory. His previous plays include Taramandal, Still and Still Moving, Quicksand, and Aakhirkaar. He has received the Vinod Doshi Fellowship, the Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Kiran Puraskar, and the Shankar Nag Award.

Director’s Note

Describing the text as terrifying and thrilling, Neel Chaudhuri notes that the play breaks conventional rules of playwriting while remaining entirely theatrical and ideal for an ensemble. Written at the end of the last century, the play offers a prophetic vision of a world shaped by information, technology, and public spectacle.

Group

The production features 3rd year students.