São Paulo – Actress Vera Holtz has been a villain, goodie and farmer’s market vendor on TV and even a woman seeking social growth, in play “Pérola” (Pearl – 1995), but this is the first time she plays an Arab character, in play “Palace of the End”, which has already been to Rio de Janeiro and is now opening in São Paulo. The actress even needed to learn some words in Arabic to bring life to an opposer of Saddam Hussein in this drama that also includes Camila Morgado and Antonio Petrin.
Written by the Canadian Judith Thompson, the play is divided into three monologues and shows the drama of three characters during the conflict in Iraq. Camila Morgado plays North American soldier Lynndie England. Pictures in which she leads prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison on a leash circled the world in 2003. In the monologue, the character reflects on the images that show the world the truth about Iraqi prisons.
Antonio Petrin shows the drama of English weapons inspector David Kelly, who revealed to British television network BBC that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the reason for which the United States and United Kingdom invaded the country in March 2003. On his time on stage, Petrin reveals the angst of the scientist little before being found dead in a bush near his house, in England.
The character played by Vera Holtz is Nehrjas Al Saffarh, a member of the Iraqi Communist Party. Vera Holt’s part is timeless, as her character died during a bombing in the 1993 Gulf War. After her death, she reveals the horrors she lived under the Hussein regime and her suffering: examples are the torture of her eight year old son in the Palace of the End, which, in truth, was the chamber of torture for regime opposition.
During her presentation, Vera utters some words in Arabic, though not many. “Or else people lose focus on the play, as they do not know the language,” she says. She also recites a poem by the Iraqi Nazik Al Malaika, who passed away in 2007. Apart from research on the reality of Arab countries on the internet, Vera met friends who taught her the language.
“I met the owners of restaurant Tenda do Nilo, in Paraíso, and they spent an entire afternoon teaching me some words, as well as speaking about the culture and cuisine. Later, a friend from [Non-Governmental Organisation] Médecins Sans Frontières, who often travels to Africa, spoke about Arabic poetry,” said Vera.
Vera had four weeks to study the language. “I studied in some books, but I confess that they were kids’ books,” she says. She learnt how to write some letters and even learnt by heart some poems by Nazik Al Malaika. “It is a beautiful and very rich language. But the tones are very different.”
The idea of adapting “Palace of the End” to Portuguese was by play director José Wilker. He was surprised with the text when he saw the play three years ago, in New York. Vera took around one year to accept playing the part. “Zé [Wilker] was impressed to see how the author deals with such a cruel topic with poetry. I, however, could not even read the torture of a son, because I am a perfectly happy person,” he said.
She decided to participate in the cast as, due to Vera, Wilker had only one actress in mind for the part when he adapted the play: her. “Zé said he bought the play thinking about me. I read it, and reread it. The character grew on me and I started getting jealous of her,” said the actress.
Service
“Palace of the End”. From January 20th to March 11th. Friday and Saturday, at 9:00 pm, and Sunday, at 6:00 pm, at Teatro Anchieta, Sesc Consolação, Rua Dr. Vila Nova, 245, Consolação. Duration: 90 minutes.
Further information by phone (+55 11) 3234-3000.
*Translated by Mark Ament
