Joe Simpson and Simon Yates—the story of their climb up the Peruvian Andes in 1985 is well known. Simpson went over a cliff, his leg shattered, and hung from a rope in the bitter cold and windy night. Yates held that weight for as long as he could, not knowing if his climbing partner was dead or alive. To cut or not to cut the rope? Simpson wrote a bestselling book about what happened next and in 2003 the story became a much-lauded documentary. In 2018, the playwright David Greig and the award-winning director Tom Morris (War Horse) adapted the story into an inventive, nuanced, and harrowing piece of theater. Ti Green’s imaginative set transforms chairs, tables, and a paper-covered climbing frame into vertiginous mountain ranges. The play returns with the original West End cast and will be live streamed with the help of binaural sound and a multi-camera rig. —B.A.
The Arts Intel Report
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
Touching the Void
When
May 26–29, 2021
Where
Etc
Photo courtesy of Bristol Old Vic.