Mangaluru: ‘Judas’, a one-act play on the life of Judas Iscariot, a character from the Bible and one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, was staged at Kalaangann, on Sun., March 13, 2016, at 6.30 p.m., by the Mandd Theatre Group. Christopher D’Souza Neenasam, trainer of Kalakul Theatre Repertory played the role of Judas.

Dr Pratap Naik SJ has written the play. By his creative skill of writing and with original thinking, the author tries to reveal the other side of the character of Judas. He tries explaining the act of Judas through his social, religious and political point of view.

Judas Iscariot was the son of Simon Iscariot and he is believed to have betrayed Jesus for thirty silver coins. Judas is the sole character that appears on the stage and he dialogues with his audience. Judas’s character is thrown open for public scrutiny. Several characters from the scriptures are compared and contrasted, to make the audience wonder whether Judas was indeed a villain or a victim of a conspiracy.

Clanwin Fernandes Kalakul provided music while Rohan D’Souza Kalakul managed the lighting of the play. This is the first one-act play in Konkani and was staged previously on March 7, 2005, at Kalaangann, in which Shri Arun Raj Rodrigues had played the role of Judas.

The large crowd that gathered to view the performance was thrilled with the perfection and skill with which the play was presented.