Shoot, I Didn’t Mean That / The Last Days Of Mankind: The Last Night

By Ed Nightingale

This double bill from Time Zone Theatre couldn’t come at a more poignant time. In the centenary year since the start of WWI, war is the key focus of many current productions, yet this theatre company’s project ‘1914 – 2014’ takes inspiration from something a little different: Karl Kraus’s The Last Days Of Mankind: The Last Night.

This was written as an epic response to the outbreak of WWI by the Austrian writer and satirist, consisting of over 200 scenes spread across five Acts (one for each year of the war). A provocative work, it wasn’t performed in Germany until 1964, or translated into English until decades later.

Here, the company present the play’s Epilogue translated by Edward Timms and Fred Bridgham – an expressionist vision of an apocalyptic world ravaged by a population “addicted to war”. It’s merely a snapshot of Kraus’s work, his Shakespearean poetry, his stock characters and his humour, accompanied by a droning electronic score from Ben Osborn. It certainly takes time for the language to sink in and for the audience to dissect the characters in such fragmented form, but there’s a relentless urgency to this performance with some powerful imagery and a talented four-strong cast who capably interpret the poetry.

The first half of the evening, though, is a new play: Shoot, I Didn’t Mean That by Catriona Kerridge. This was written as a direct response to Kraus’s work as part of the ‘1914 – 2014’ project – as such, knowledge of his play is intrinsic to understanding her piece. However, with Kerridge’s work performed first, it takes time for the thematic puzzle pieces to slot together. As a whole, the two productions feel a little disjointed.

The parallels are subtle but they’re there. Set in modern day, Shoot, I Didn’t Mean That follows three narratives that explore the resonating impact of war on women today and how it can inspire a certain kind of madness. Though not directly a satire, there is a surprising amount of humour and humanity to Kerridge’s writing.

One of the major themes of Klaus’s work is the perversion of language, something that Kerridge also explores. One narrative strand sees an interpreter (an eccentric yet believable Emily Bairstow) refusing to translate the lies of politicians, cleverly inspired by real-life interpreter Nataliya Dmytruk and including her direct quotations. Another strand sees a young Brit (Alexine Lafaber) in a German prison after raising her arm in a Nazi salute in public – by not understanding German, the significance of her joke is misinterpreted. We never quite get to the bottom of why her arm becomes stuck in that position; it remains an amusing symbol of her unexplained madness.

The third strand is the most relatable yet perhaps the most disturbing. Two schoolgirls (Alexa Hartley and Jocasta King) are stuck in a school assembly on Remembrance Day with the giggles, the significance of WWI lost in a world of iPads and selfies. They compare the war to tea and a biscuit: “a bit bland and extremely boring”. Through school education, we’ve all been there. What happens next, though, builds to a shocking conclusion that reflects the impact the war can have on naïve, innocent lives.

As a whole, Time Zone Theatre have presented a thought-provoking double bill that’s dense and fragmented, whilst highlighting the impact WWI continues to have today in a world still torn by conflict.

★★★★

Shoot, I Didn’t Mean That / The Last Days Of Mankind: The Last Night

The Tristan Bates Theatre

23rd Sept – 18th Oct

7.30pm

@PostScriptJour

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