Critically acclaimed dark comedy, The Ridiculous Darkness, by award-winning German playwright Wolfram Lotz, will be performed by Travis Alabanza, Seraphina Beh, Shannon Hayes and Rochelle Rose in a version from Director Anthony Simpson-Pike from the 27 February – 23 March.
In this powerful response to Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, the cast will play multiple roles, shape shifting between two classical works to create a surreal deconstruction of our colonial narratives, and what we think is actually in the darkness.
Ultimo has a degree in piracy from Mogadishu University of Applied Sciences. Tofdau won’t rest until his story’s told. Sergeant Pellner and Officer Dorsche are sailing up the Hindu Kush in search of Lieutenant Colonel Deutinger in the rainforest of Afghanistan. And at his parents’ home in Bad Rippoldsau, Wolfram Lotz is experiencing writer’s block.
Anthony Simpson-Pike said: “There is something really special about The Ridiculous Darkness, not only in how subversive and playful it is, but also because of how brilliantly it holds a mirror to the Western imagination. It allows the audience to see clearly the absurdity of the ideas upon which our understanding of “civilisation” is based. It’s iconoclastic; hilariously and blackly sending up two of the most revered Western works, Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now. With a cast of four black femmes, we’re deconstructing a narrative that’s been told by many white men and asking: who is allowed to represent themselves? And what if the story were different?”
