Jayan Varghese: Towards the Light

To western eyes, this play may seem simplistic and unsophisticated,
yet its intentions, like those of the dramatist, Bertolt Brecht, and others,
often anonymous works of protest performance theater deemed
subversive, is to awaken and stimulate audiences to awareness and
action – where personifications of villainous, authoritative figures
are portrayed, and where viewers might recognize themselves in
characters striving toward freedom – from darkness to light. It may
be interpreted that Varghese embraces Christianity and its offering
of a way to light through belief and faith in the teachings of Christ,
a recognition and acceptance that His authority reigns supreme over
the false dictates of earthly tyrants. It is His followers who will find
a release from fear and abuse through an understanding and practice
of His truths. Likewise, the “Miracle”, or morality plays in medieval
Europe, a form of street theatre, exposed the populace to allegorical
stories that taught a moral message underpinned by Christian
teachings. The characters represented abstract qualities of goodness
and evil, virtue and vice, which engaged in a battle to win the soul
of the ‘mankind’ figure. This spirit continues, as embodied in Jayan
Varghese’s play, “Towards the Light”.

• Publisher : QCC Art Gallery Press; 1st Edition (2024)
• Language : English, Malayalam 
• Softcover :  113 Pages
• ISBN         : 978-0979938207