STRIPTEASE & OUT AT SEA

MATTHEW LENTON (UK)

A bizarre, yet highly political, double-show based on texts by the Polish master of the Theatre of the Absurd, Slavomir Mrozek.
In Striptease, a conventionally absurd piece, two almost identical entrepreneurs are trapped in a room from whose door appears every so often a mysterious hand that invites them to remove an item of their clothing. Deprived of their business suits and in shorts, the two speculate about where they are, why they are stuck there, and what the best action is to get themselves out of this situation.
In Out At Sea, three men, for reasons not entirely clear, find themselves on a raft/island in the open ocean. After eating their meager supplies, they find themselves having to answer the only important question – who gets eaten first? This situation becomes a springboard for a nuanced discussion of the concept of class, exploitation, and the limits of democracy.
Two texts from the 1950s that become as relevant as ever in Lenton’s hands. A Europe struggling with contempt for politics and social order. More than lyrical like Beckett, Mrozek is brutal. More than existential, he is overtly political.

STRIPTEASE e OUT AT SEA direction Matthew Lenton
with Roos Aallan, Robert Jack, Petere Kelly & Samuele Keefe
stage manager Neil Anderson
presented in 2015 by Citizens Theatre as part of a season
in celebration of Close Theatre’s 50th anniversary, in collaboration with Vanishing Point

THU 28.09.2017 | 20.30 & FRI 29.09.2017 | 19.00 | 21.30
SALA TEATRO LAC – LUGANO

THU 28.09 | 22.00 After-show meeting with the audience
moderator Angela Demattè
translation Carina Kaiser