The Apparatus
A surreal black-comic nightmare:
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Three stories by master of the macabre Franz Kafka explore the twists and turns of legal limbo, paranoia, and offshore detention on an island prison.
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'Before the Law' is a haunting allegory about a man waiting outside a door; 'The Burrow' is a black comedy about a creature obsessed with holes and tunnels; and 'In the Penal Colony' is a perverse demonstration by an insane officer of a torture device on an island prison.
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Kafka wrote: "a book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us."
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His nightmarish vision has never been more timely.
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This visceral new work by one of Perth's leading devisor-performers (WISH, SKIN) and the creative team who brought you HIRO will make you feel the absurdity and horror of what lies on our doorstep.
Winner
Best Performance,
Humphrey Bower
The Blue Room Theatre Awards, 2019
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Nominated
Best Actor (Male)
Humphrey Bower)
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Best Supporting Actor
(Male)
Timothy Green
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Best Lighting Design
Joe Lui
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Performing Arts WA Awards, 2020
Season dates:
13 – 31 August 2019
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Duration: 55 mins
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"Bower and Tim Green tackle classic Kafkaesque themes of hopeless frustration, anxious futility and absurd, terrifying justice, with an understated eye to contemporary Australia.
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...in the end, in the horrified absolute silence of the closing scene, each audience member is left with their own thoughts both in the theatre and for later reflection."
"A rich seam of ideas is evident as each segment evolves...
More unsettling is that the audience watches on, cast as mute witness and co-conspirator in the violence."
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"You can't imagine them working any better if they had continued to a conclusion because the lack of it often seems to be the point. The same could be said of Bowers respectful tribute."
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Victoria Laurie, The Australian, August 22 2019
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Photo by Floyd Perrin, 2019
Photo by Floyd Perrin, 2019
Photo by Marshall Stay, 2019
Photo by Floyd Perrin, 2019
Creative Team
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Writer, Director
& Performer
Humphrey Bower
Assistant Director,
Operator & Performer
Timothy Green
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Movement Director
Sam Chester
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Set Design
Rhys Morris
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Sound & Lighting Designer
Joe Lui
Producer
Libby Klysz
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Publicist
Ali Welburn
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