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Alley Theatre, in partnership with Neworld Theatre, is thrilled to present the large-scale stage adaptation and North American premiere of The Ridiculous Darkness from November 11 to 19 at the ANNEX Theatre.

A multi-award-winning German radio play by Wolfram Lotz, The Ridiculous Darkness is a boldly satirical, modern mash-up of the classic novel Heart of Darkness and the Oscar-winning film Apocalypse Now.

After being charged with piracy, a Somali man seeks understanding – but his case is soon interrupted by the story of two western soldiers entering a foreign (to them) land. They’ve been ordered to retrieve a fellow officer who has gone rogue and killed two of his own comrades. But on their journey ‘down the rabbit hole’, various people and local communities encounter them and the story becomes an earnest – albeit hilarious – exploration of how difficult, yet vital, it is to understand each other.

“I think as artists, as people, we need to be reminded of the value of looking beyond our own noses,” says co-director Marisa Emma Smith. “And with this project, we’re definitely looking beyond in a lot of different directions!”

Directed by Marisa Emma Smith and Nyla Carpentier, The Ridiculous Darkness is produced with the participation of Theatre Terrific, Tetsu Taiko, Richmond Youth Honour Choir, Downtown East Side Street Market Society, Street Vendors Collective, Afghan Benevolent Association of BC, Realwheels Theatre, and the East Van Powwow Crew. 30% of all ticket sales will go directly to these participatory organizations.

The Ridiculous Darkness

Dates: November 11 to 19, Wednesday to Saturday, 7:30 pm; Sunday, 2 pm
Venue: The ANNEX, 823 Seymour Street, Vancouver
Tickets: From $19; available online
Added Value: ASL & Vocal Eye Audio Description at select performances | Wheelchair Accessible
Talkbacks and ancillary events to be held by each of the participant organizations

Opening night’s performance will be preceded by a brief Remembrance Day ceremony featuring a poem by the late Indigenous artist Zaccheus Jackson.

World Toilet Day Presentation

Fittingly, The Ridiculous Darkness closes on the United Nations-sanctioned World Toilet Day. To honour this, prior to the production ‘being flushed down the toilet’, Alley Theatre representative Davey Calderon, Aly the Alligator – and a toilet – will give a brief and passionate presentation about the global sanitation crisis.

Photos by Wendy D Photography.