Читать книгу Flies - Oliver Lansley - Страница 6

Flies is an absurdist tale of one man’s struggle to overcome his acute irrational fear and the way that fear manifests itself, takes hold and governs.

After an unfortunate incident on a flight, Dennis must undergo six weeks of therapy to address his issues. Fragments of the memories and experiences that have shaped his fear provide the backbone of the play as we yo-yo back and forth in time, from school trips to a petting zoo, to working as a dental assistant. But will Dennis conquer his fear before The Fly – a charming, whisky drinking maverick with a thoroughly nasty streak – takes up permanent residence in his consciousness? Or will he cave in and let the fear beat him? Dennis’ obsessive-compulsive behaviour as he endeavours to create a world without flies is both comical and tragic; indeed we feel as though we are literally in a front-row seat inside his brain, witnessing his nightmares and accompanying him in his flights of fantasy.

We meet a variety of characters from his life – ex-girlfriends, ex-employers, ex-teachers…you get the picture. And throughout the play we are invited to question the reliability of the witness. Voices, faces and places take on a warped, kaleidoscopic quality – all of them projections from Dennis’ consciousness, some more malevolent than others.

This is Pins and Needles’ second major collaboration with Oliver Lansley following Ernest and the Pale Moon. With an exciting live soundtrack from experimental, Bristol-based musician Kid Carpet, our production is a fusion of theatre, stand-up comedy and a gig.

Oliver’s play ends with a startling metamorphosis: Dennis’ ultimate act of defiance and release, in which the real world collides with the surreal.