The Scene gets up close to some of the artists and perfomers taking part in this years Lambeth Fringe. Offering up sneak previews of a few choice shows, and insights in to the purpose and process that bring these pieces to life.

The Dying Wish

This bold new tragicomedy by Brazilian writer Mauro Fazion combines dark comedy with raw realism to hold up a mirror to our collective contradictions. While the play’s style is not strictly realistic, its content is deeply rooted in truth. As Mauro says: “It’s so deeply realistic, it looks like nonsense.” Using absurdist dialogue, surreal scenarios, and clownesque theatricality, the play exposes the cracks in our systems of justice, bureaucracy, and institutionalised violence.

Set in a crumbling execution chamber, two hangmen, Rooney and Ingmar, wrestle with increasingly nonsensical orders as they prepare to hang Paul Freeman, a man condemned for ambiguous “crimes”, that reveal more about a broken system than the convict himself. Inspired by real events and steeped in the spirit of Brecht, Ionesco, Arrabal, and the Theatre of the Absurd, the play is both biting satire and haunting human drama.

As one reviewer put it: “This is the theatre we want to see.” Produced by Fractured Time Productions, this daring new writing invites audiences to think, feel, and question the world around them, proof that timeless, provocative theatre still has the power to change us.

Tickets through the Lambeth Fringe website: https://lambethfringe.com/events