The Theatre Arts Department at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi will present two thought-provoking one act plays by Harold Pinter during the annual FAME (Faculty Award for Merit and Excellence) Show Thursday, Sept. 30-Sunday, Oct. 3 at the Wilson Theatre.

“Mountain Language,” written is 1988, is a shocking indictment of the machinations and effects of totalitarian society. Drawing his inspiration from the oppression the Kurds suffered under Turkish rule, Pinter centered his play in a prison controlled by unnamed guards in an unidentified country. The enigmatic play blends absurdism and realism to reveal the harsh reality of modern society and the isolationism and powerlessness of the individual within that society.

Pinter wrote “One for the Road” in 1984 after having a conversation with two Turkish girls who would not believe that people were being tortured in their country. The social drama is a stark indictment of the abuse of political prisoners and the more than 90 countries that practice political torture in secret.

“War, terrorism, scenes of torture and prisoner humiliation, why would anyone want to see a play that conjures up these images?” is the rhetorical question posed by Professor Don Luna, head of the University’s theatre and film arts department.

“Hopefully, we chose to be an educated and informed society, aware of our past and present foreign policy and seeking to create a consciousness that fights such injustice,” Luna said. “Political torture is a topic we need to address. We’ve become so numbed by images on television that we need theatre to shake us out of our complacency. The plays are not against war per se, they’re against torture. They ask the question, do the ends justify the means?”

Between the short plays, a collection of photos depicting brutality at Iraq’s infamous Abu Ghraib prison will be shown to bring home the fact that torture and prisoner abuse are not limited to foreign governments. The presentation was put together by senior theatre and film major Alexis Arredondo. Following the second play, a panel discussion will be held featuring representatives of the South Texas Peace Alliance and A&M-Corpus Christi political science faculty.

“I have chosen to introduce most scenes with dialogues by the victims and their oppressors from the U.S. military prison at Abu Ghraib to help cast a light on this fractured, dark, dangerous period in our history,” said Luna. “Social drama opens the wounds of a culture, invites inspection and hopefully leads us to a healing. Each time someone is abused in the name of peace, peace is replaced by hatred. Each time a hand is raised against another, we must never forget that our hands too deliver the blow.”

Performances of the FAME show are Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. with a matinee on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. All tickets are $10 with proceeds benefiting the University’s arts and theatre scholarship students. For more information or to reserve seating call the University Theatre Box Office at 825-5800.