BBC Radio 4 The Afternoon Play It can be heard by hitting the Friday button through October 25, 2007
Annapurna By Jod Mitchell is a little three character suspense melodrama set somewhere in the wilds of Nepal.
Tim has just joined Emma from their native England. She has been there for awhile doing research or some such, I don't remember exactly why she is there but it's not that important.
The play gets it drama and tension from the fear of the other, the foreign. Actually it is about the conflict of the dualistic attraction and revulsion of The Other. It explores the emotional power of putting oneself in a foreign land, particularly a poorer one. This is an intriguing jumping off point for the drama.
This listener is well in touch with that sort of fear, therefore I rarely go traveling, and when I do I tend to want to stay in the place for an extended period, live there so I can get more than a surface impression of what is going on there. Who wants to appear as the rich American white boy tourist? Not me.
In the play, Emma has been there awhile, can speak the language, sort of, and has had a taste of local culture.
Somehow this play kind of reminded me of the movie version of Deliverance. That was Americans in a foreign part of their own country. But I would imagine that it is a common experience in our modern times of rather inexpensive jet travel and such. The global village that really is not one, especially when one gets away from the cities.
The sound design of the play is rather attractive. The play is worth a listen and rather entertaining.
