The play is set in two adjacent rooms in a run-down hotel. In the
first, a wretched woman who can no longer face the tragedy of her
existence, murders her social-outcast husband and then commits suicide.
In the second, the neighbour, an unemployed voyeur, watches the events
unfold through a hole in the wall but does nothing to stop them. He then
dispassionately describes what he has seen to his lover. The couple
cruelly dissect the deaths of their neighbours while remaining unaware
of their own tragic alienation.
Written more than forty years
ago, the work’s clear, acerbic eye gives it an explosive power that
makes it highly topical in today’s society of estrangement, emotional
cruelty and political apathy. Skilfully managing the interplay of
characters, the writer makes a harsh criticism of the psychologically
wounded individual who is either indifferent to the plight of his
neighbour or is trapped into having to find a solution to his problems
on his own, often making the most destructive of choices. Katerina
Evangelatou, one of the younger generation of directors, expertly
reveals this modern dynamic to the audience with the help of an
intriguing cast and excellent production team.
First performance: 21/09/2013
Last performance: 13/10/2013
NATIONAL THEATRE