Barricade

Despite the fact that Utpal Dutt is acknowledged as among the trailblazers of post-Independence Indian theatre, readers outside Bengal have not had access to the range and wealth of his drama. Barricade (1972) is one such masterpiece. A political play, it stages the Nazi takeover of Germany in 1933, but with an eye on India. For example, referring to the Nazis’ infamous act of setting books ablaze, one character says: ‘If I have to survive by carrying out their commands, where’s my respect for reading Schopenhauer and Karl Marx? They’re burning books, understand?’ Today, the surge to power of far-right parties and fundamentalist fanaticism across the world means that the co-option of democracy and civil society in 1933 leading to Nazi fascism can happen again—or indeed has already happened—restoring to Barricade its immediate urgency. The Introduction analyses its historical context. The translation is also a very rare product in dramatic literature, collating both the printed original as well as a documented performance of the production directed by Dutt.