Al'Daakan is a play of remarkable invention using drama, song, dance and music to bring the Hindu myth of the goddess Kali to the Clocktower last Saturday.

With a cast of three the play encompasses the world of dreams, the practicalities of everyday life, the power of myth, the desire for revenge, the complexities of the human mind and the search for truth. These big themes are delivered with a judicious eye for drama, humour and imaginative storytelling. The stylised nature of Indian theatrical conceits combined with a welcome sprinkling of audience interaction created a fascinating way to deal with such varied subjects.

The story starts with the dreams a young girl called Zenobia has about her great aunt who was possessed by a malevolent male spirit. Determined to learn what the dreams mean she journeys from innocence to experience, through her dreams which ulti-mately take her to the goddess Kali who famously slays a demon and then went on a destructive rampage after drinking its blood.

The legend leaves a great deal to the audience to interpret. Is re-venge at any cost worth it? What do you do when justice is denied to you? How far can a human go under extreme circumstances?

Para Active Theatre possess terrific energy and are able to convey a great deal even when much of the dialogue was in Gujarati. It never got in the way of the story or alienated those in the audi-ence, like myself, who speak only English.

The biggest virtue of the performance were the talented cast, in particular, the versatile lead actress Persis Jade Maravala (pictured).

She possesses a striking and fabulously flexible face which can convey pretty much anything she wants with remarkable clarity. This proves a useful ability as her role demands shifts from simple peasant girls to old men to terrifying demons and the goddesses Kali herself.

The play set itself apart from the normal fare and left the audience with a very unusual performance to mull over long after it ended.