ursula
written by
Howard Barker
"You cannot wash your hands of love.
It sticks.
It goes all -
It coagulates."
Eleven frightened young Virgins are sailing down a river.
To the estuary, where an impatient Prince awaits the arrival of his bride.
But there is no bride.
Because she has decided she is marrying elsewhere.
To Christ.
Howard Barker's disturbing reinterpretation of the ancient legend of St. Ursula is a violent and deeply poetic examination of sexual love and spiritual passion.
Five Provocations
- Virginity is the fear of hell... the hell of a vertiginous desire for another.
- To choose virginity is to assert one's independence from the insistence of nature - virginity is the repudiation of determinism.
- Virginity is a vision... of all that lies after ecstasy. It is a premonition of the banal.
- Virginity is an attitude to reality which relegates pleasure to a low priority. Perhaps that is where it belongs?
- If one can deny sex, might one also not deny death?
credits
cast
Placida, a Perfect Liar. Viveka Kumari
Ursula, a Virgin. Imogen Butler-Cole
Leonora, a Vagrant. Dilnaz Irani
Cynthia, a Virgin. Shanaya Rafaat
Phyllis, a Virgin. Ayesha Raza
Janet, a Virgin. Chaitali Trivedi
Perdita, a Virgin. Srimoyee Mitra
Benedicta, a Virgin. Faezeh Jalali
Anne, a Virgin. Ratnabali Bhattacharjee
Clara, a Virgin. Mihica Barthakur
Lamentina, a Virgin. Karishma Shah. Sharana Jhangiani
Lucas, a Temptation. Sameer Sheikh
Man with a Mop. Vijay Crishna
set
Arzan Khambatta
lighting design
Zuleikha Allana
costume design
Viveka Kumari & Adel Enderson
photography
Kunaal Roy Kapoor
production manager
Teena Antia
production team
Neysa Mendes, Gautam Udhwani, & Karl Alphonso
produced by
Nadir Khan
directed by
Rehaan Engineer