The Rage of Narcissus
By Sergio Blanco
A Tangram Theatre / Pleasance Theatre co-production, Pleasance Islington.
Performed in English, translated from Spanish
A twisty, teasing piece of auto-fiction that is like finding yourself dropped into a storytelling labyrinth or a hall of mirrors full of distorting deceptions.
Lyn Gardner – StageDoor
The Rage of Narcissus is sure to create a frenzy, this is a masterpiece of storytelling that heaves and swells with dramatic impetus, while at the same time feeling very personal and accessible, thanks to Sam Crane’s outstanding performance.
Theatre Weekly
A gripping thriller, with the screws of incremental revelation and tension being tightened step by step to the ingenious conclusion.
British Theatre
There are so many fascinating and disturbing twists and turns in the piece that will literally keep you enthralled and on the edge of your seat for the full 90 minutes.
The Artiscape
A thoroughly enjoyable evening for those after something different from the standard play. Crane’s performance is outstanding.
The Upper Circle
A challenging yet cunning tale of sex, murder and autofiction.
QX Magazine
Simultaneously playful, formally inventive and coldly horrifying, The Rage of Narcissus is a rich meditation on vanity, mortality, and sex, wrapped up in a grisly thriller.
The Stage
The Rage of Narcissus is so layered, complex, and obsessed with questions of authorship that it felt totally possible that it could all be an elaborate death-of-the-author type fantasy.
Exeunt
When writer Sergio arrives in Ljubljana to give a lecture on Narcissus, the first thing he does after checking into his hotel room is get on an app and look for someone to have sex with. A few hours later, once Igor has come and gone, Sergio spots a dark brown stain on the floor. Looking closer, he sees that it’s a blood stain and that there are more and more blood stains all over the room. Both horrified and intrigued, he starts to investigate… only to discover that he might be the murderer’s next victim.
Cast
Sam Crane (Sergio Blanco / Sam Crane)
Creative Team
Daniel Goldman (Director and Translator), Natalie Johnson (Set and Costume Designer), Richard Williamson (Lighting Designer), Kieran Lucas (Sound Design), Nic Connaughton (Producer), Nadine Rennie CGD (Casting Director)
After the success of Thebes Land, Sergio and I both wanted to work on his follow up play, The Rage of Narcissus. The key to this show, a monologue about a man who discovers a horrific murder and goes on a quest to discover the perpetrator, was finding the right actor and thanks to casting director Nadine Rennie, we got it absolutely right. Sam was a revelation in the role, giving a stunning performance, full of charm, unexpected warmth and then growing terror and menace. The show was also a first chance for me to work with the wonderful Natalie Johnson and Kieran Lucas and the combo of a bravely simple mirror set, a dark soundtrack, alongside some clever video projections and shards of light from Richard really brought the show together.
What none of us were ready for was the start of the pandemic that caught up with us as we started performing the show… watching our audience numbers drop dramatically as the people got more and more worried about Covid was a fascinating, horrible experience and a taster of the difficulties theatre has to come to face over the past two years.
All photos © Ali Wright