Barricade

A political play staging the Nazi takeover of Germany with an eye on India.

Although Utpal Dutt is acknowledged as a trailblazer of post-Independence Indian theater, English readers have not had access to the range and wealth of his drama. Barricade is a political play that stages the Nazi takeover of Germany in 1933 with an eye on India. 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 that led to Nazi fascism can happen again-or indeed has already happened-granting Barricade its immediate urgency. Equipped with an introduction analyzing its historical context, this translation of Barricade 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.