A new play inspired by the cult film
“Shadows, dreams, they’re all around us, they’re everywhere!”
Franzis Gruber, a lowly bureaucrat, lives a neat and ordered life in a sleepy, provincial German town. When a travelling fair arrives, full of clowns, freaks, magicians and sleepwalkers, it drags Franzis into a series of nightmarish murders – spinning dreams into reality, the imagined into truth and order into chaos.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one of the most influential films of all time: a box office smash in 1920, it came to define cinematic Expressionism and inspire Film Noir. Torn from the screen, simple8 transforms the film into a fast, frenzied fairground sideshow with a “pungently evocative and blackly amusing master-class in the art of poor theatre” – Time Out.
“simple8 specialise in creating theatrical riches on a shoestring” ★★★★ The Independent
“Three cheers to a brave young company” ★★★★ The Evening Standard
All music and sound is performed live by the ensemble.
Photography: IdilSukan/ Draw HQ – Twitter @idilsukan
Praise for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
“A haunted accordion of a show that sways and wheezes with its own demented energy”
★★★★TIME OUT
“The ensemble flourishes”
★★★★ THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
“Gripping storytelling”
★★★★ THE EVENING STANDARD
“A brilliant reminder of [what] theatre is capable”
★★★★EXEUNT
★★★★★ WHATSPEENSEEN ★★★★★ ENTERTAINMENT FOCUS ★★★★★ PLAYS TO SEE
12 February – 4 May 2013
A season of new work from the company that brought Les Enfants du Paradis and The Four Stages of Cruelty to Arcola Theatre
“A company possessing the skills, dedication and intelligence to create wonder” ★★★★★ The Times
simple8 has a strong commitment to environmental issues and continues to work alongside Arcola Theatre to develop policies based on the principles of ecological sustainability.
www.simple8.co.uk
Also in the simple8 season
MOBY-DICK
A new play adapted from Herman Melville’s novel
By Sebastian Armesto
Book both The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Moby-Dick for any performances and save 15%
If you book both productions in the same booking you will save 15% on your tickets. The discount will automatically be applied online and when booking by phone. Please note: this offer is only available until 16 March 2013 and subject to availability.
Saturday matinees at 3pm (23 February & 2, 9, 16 March) – £14 (£12 concessions)
Opening performances (13 – 16, 18, 20, 21 February) – all tickets £12
Pay What You Can Tuesdays (limited and subject to availability) – from 6:30pm in person on the day.
Post-Show Discussion
Dr. Cindy Lawford will give a 20-minute post-show talk on Tuesday, 5 March, on the famous 1920 film and its relation to the play.
