Preview: The Ridiculous Darkness, Feb 21-23, Wardrobe Theatre

Bristol University’s Spotlights drama society present Wolfram Lotz’s absurdist satire of (post-)colonial society.

Two soldiers, Oliver Pellner and Stephen Dorsch, find themselves rowing down the Hindu Kush in search of Lieutenant Colonel Deutinger. Throughout their journey they encounter increasingly absurd characters, ranging from a UN officer obsessed with litter disposal to a peddler of lactose-free goats’ cheese and a philosophical talking parrot, all of whom have a story to tell.

As they venture deeper into the ‘unknown’ their grip on reality loosens. Inspired by Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, Lotz’s play explores the absurdities of a postcolonial landscape in an shambolic and energetic way. Lotz’s script is brimming with stories which beg to be told, and tosses its audience through a series of encounters resulting in a bizarre denouement.

Here’s director Niall Potter: “It’s the ‘Germany’s next top model’ of the German theatre scene, a huge hit play in 2015 winning numerous awards and launching the writer Wolfram Lotz into the limelight. I saw it in Berlin in the Deutsches Theatre and it instantly grabbed hold of me – I was captivated, and it hasn’t let go of me since. 

“I think German theatre is remarkably exciting, and hugely different to what we often see in the UK but, sadly, there isn’t a lot of cultural exchange. I’m really keen to take a very modern, unique and popular German play and stage it for an English audience. This play is perfect because it is simultaneously familiar, taking inspiration from Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, and also vastly different to your average theatre-going experience. It’s also extremely relevant to the current climate: it tackles the issues of alternative facts and misrepresentation, as well the insensitivity shown to non-western cultures found so frequently across Europe.

“The play is unapologetically absurdist. It opens with a young girl walking out on stage claiming to be a Somalian pirate with a BA in Piracy from the Mogadishu University of Applied Sciences, and that’s one of the play’s tamer moments. Lotz uses absurdity as a weapon to assault his audience, keeping them on their toes so they never know what’s coming next. Yet he does this with purpose, the absurdities in the play expose the absurdities found in European attitudes towards non-European cultures. It’s also extremely funny, you should expect to laugh, think and scratch your head in confusion throughout. A talking parrot? A hopelessly romantic sloth bear? A fruit containing someone’s life story? Anything goes. 

“I think it’s a really fun play. The style we’re going for is high-energy and high fun, so audiences should leave feeling pumped up. I’m hoping some of the more absurd moments will really have an impact and people will come away trying to work out what it all meant. In the end it’s a play which, for all its surface madness, is underpinned by a very serious message, so I hope that audiences take that away too.”

The Ridiculous Darkness Feb 21-23, Wardrobe Theatre. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.thewardrobetheatre.com/livetheatre/the-ridiculous-darkness