The Ridiculous Darkness
The Ridiculous Darkness had its premiere in March 2017 at the Experimental Stage of the National
Theatre of Greece, and is a play by the German author Wolfram Lotz.
Awarded as the best play in german language in 2015, as voted by the Theater Heute magazine
and by the Nestroy awards committee.
Based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now,
The Ridiculous Darkness explores the European view on everything that's foreign, non-white,
non-European.
By combining satire with existential angst, it tells a surrealistic story of economic and military
expansionism, featuring two soldiers on a dangerous mission in the tropical forests of Afghanistan,
two Somali pirates, an Italian Blue-Helmet, an indigenous Serb of Afghanistan, an eccentric pastor,
a parrot-esque journalist, a mysterious colonel, and the despairing Wolfram Lotz himself.
A play about colonialism and neocolonialism, masculinity and religion, national identity and the
power of the mass media.
The Ridiculous Darkness has been invited to the following festivals:
Dimitria Festival, Thessaloniki, Greece, October 2017
New Greek Wave, Bremen, Germany, May 2018
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Crew
Direction Katerina Giannopoulou
Dramaturgy and translation Greg Liakopoulos
Set and costumes Niki Psychogiou
Music Nefeli Stamatogiannopoulou, Panos Tsekouras
Choreographer Nadi Gogoulou
Lighting design Christina Thanasoula
Assistant director Maria Nikitopoulou
Photos Karol Jarek
Cast
Giorgos Kissandrakis Gogo Papaioannou
Marios Panagiotou Vasilis Safos