The Stage

Out of the Heart of Darkness

Published Wednesday 27 July 2005 at 13:20 by John Thaxter

Sitting in a barge on the tranquil Thames, the hero of Joseph Conrad’s dark novella recalls a terrifying journey he undertook up the Congo river in Africa in search of a buccaneering Belgian, the agent Kurtz, who successfully plundered the ivory wealth of the region while immersing himself in native savagery.

Gren Middleton’s marionette drama updates the story to the end of the last century, with diamonds now the source of greed, corruption and exploitation: a parallel account of Conrad’s tale, starting with the phantom involvement of the deposed Zaire president Mobutu’s wife and ending with the death of Kurtz after taking part in a horrific jungle ritual, surrounded by skulls of his victims.

This adult production is yet another fruit of a 30-year artistic collaboration between author-designer Middleton, a former lighting cameraman, and the gifted puppeteer and costume maker Juliet Rogers, a thrilling example of their unique ‘live animation’ technique. It combines specially carved marionettes with an audiophonic soundtrack recorded by leading actors whose voices are skilfully blended with traditional music of Africa. Presented as a two-act tragedy in cinemascopic proportions, it comes complete with spectacular settings and lighting effects.

Their 85-minute performance is not all stark dread. Several witty scenes reveal our hero struggling with the machinations of Congo officials, shrewd African doctors and paid helpers. But no-one who sees this staging will easily forget the terror wrought by faceless creatures on poles whose clattering dance, set to a percussion score, hints at the unspeakable.