Laughter in the Dark

Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved; and his life ended in disaster.

Thus begins Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Laughter in the Dark: a grusome yet brilliant story of Albinus. A man who is seduced by his own desire for a young girl and leaves his wife and child. He later loses his sight and deceived by his young lover and best friend. It is a tale of human nature: hate, desire, evil and helplessness.

This classic story is told through a series of visual and audio effects. The audience experiences how their own senses are influenced and challenged in combination with the main characters’.

Performers:
Albinus: Thomas Mørk
Rex: Johannes Lilleøre
Margot: Clara Fasting Prebensen

Direction, concept:Kirsten Dehlholm
Manuscript: Mogens Rukov
Choreography: Mette Ingvartsen
Music, performed live: Nils Frahm
Light design: Jesper Kongshaug
Sound design: Kristian Hverring
Set design: Kirsten Dehlholm, Adalsteinn Stefansson
Costume design: Henrik Vibskov

Production: Hotel Pro Forma, Republique

Co-production: Hotel Pro Forma, Republique, Sirenos Festival, TEART
Distribution: Quaternaire

Duration: 90 minutes, no intermission

About the performance
The performance is divided into three acts, three versions of the same story, where our senses are used differently each time.

Act 1 The Dark
The room is completely blacked out and the audience is wearing headphones. We experience the world as Albinus: with out our sense of sight, desparate and powerless. The dark and the 3D sound through the headphones amplifies the other senses and the meaning of the spoken word. The story is toldbackwards, where the tragic and violent ending opens the performance.

Act 2 The Light
The room is now seen for the first time: the set is an irreversible machine in constant motion. The room is multiplied by mirrors and shadow-play, creating optical illusions. The movement of the performers amplifies the text and create insecurity. The background for the ending of the story is told via headphones; the performers are brought incredibly close to the audience. A corporeal, sensorial and illusorial presentation.

Act 3 The Music
A live piano concert completes the piece. Music retells the story. The compositions reflect the fatal finish with an inciting musical sequence. The body thinks twice before the curtain closes.




Hotel Pro Forma is supported by the Danish Arts Council’s Committee for the Performing Arts. The performance is supported by Bikubenfonden, Oticonfonden, Toyotafonden, Beckettfonden and the Goethe Institute. MAC Cosmetics and Teater & Lysteknik are performance partners.