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LAMDA and Theatre503 present...
“It’s like we’re under siege. It’s like there’s a reign of terror within our own four walls.”
Fireface is a raw and disturbing portrait of the claustrophobia of adolescence. We get to know what seems to be a typical nuclear family on the surface, being on the brink of collapse when the struggles beneath the surface are put to the test.
Kurt, the teenage son obsessed with fire, experiments with dangerous substances and becomes increasingly withdrawn and violent. His sister Olga is struggling with her own identity and desires, and finds herself drawn into Kurt’s world of chaos. The parents, overwhelmed and disconnected, fail to comprehend the depths of their children’s discontent. The family dynamics unravel as Kurt’s pyromania escalates, leading to catastrophic consequences.
Originally written in 1997 about a ‘typical’ middle-class family in Germany, it’s now been updated to take place in the age of algorithm driven social media; where society has been pushed to extreme political polarisation and far right ideologies have manifested themselves deeply into the societal discourse, appealing especially to younger generations.
The production is a shortened version of the original play as published by Methuen/ Bloomsbury.
Running time: 70 mins (no interval)
Age guidance: 12+
Content Information: This show contains themes that you may find distressing. You can find the content information for Fireface here. If you have any questions please email boxoffice@theatre503.com.
Pre-Theatre Dining: Audience members can get a 33% discount on food bought at The Latchmere pub between 6pm – 7pm, Monday – Friday! Just show a staff member your ticket confirmation email or e-ticket. Book in advance to avoid disappointment and we hope to see you soon!
Marius von Mayenburg
Marius von Mayenburg is a playwright, director and translator. He studied Germanic medieval literature and writing for the stage at the Berlin University of the Arts. Since 1997 he is known as author of numerous plays translated into over thirty languages and performed at home and abroad, making him one of the most important and successful contemporary playwrights writing in German language.
His plays transcend the “new realism” of the German dramaturgy of the 1990s into grotesque exposures of absurdities of middle-class life under global neoliberal capitalism. His work for the stage revisits and reinvents key conventional dramatic mechanisms from a postdramatic perspective. Mayenburg uses montage for his staccato dramaturgical approach achieving a fluid sequence of dramatic situations. His characters are first and foremost in conflict with themselves finding solution in violence, loss of individuality or suicide. The language of his social satires is impersonal, crisp and laconic.
Fireface was Mayenburg's breakthrough play. It was produced at The Royal Court in 2000 and The Young Vic in 2012, directed by Thomas Ostermeier and Sam Pritchard respectively.
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