Bare Witness Theatre Co. supported by Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres presents:
Solo performance of Camus’ modern classic cuts like a knife.
One of Canberra’s most celebrated actors, Christopher Samuel Carroll, delivers a performance of searing intensity in this solo adaptation of a startlingly modern classic. From the infamous opening line, “Maman died today”, the character of Meursault states his case with unflinching directness, confronting his listeners with a story of alienation, chance and life-shattering choices that takes a scalpel to the hypocrisy of civil society.
The Stranger is Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus’ masterpiece, and since its publication in 1942, it has been renowned as one of the great character studies in modern literature. It lays before us a seemingly ordinary man, who is extraordinary in his honesty: an everyman, a cipher, a philosophical riddle, a man who, in Camus’ words,
“refuses to lie. We all do it, every day, to make life simpler. But Meursault, contrary to appearances, doesn’t want to make life simpler. He says what he is, he refuses to hide his feelings and society immediately feels threatened.”
In this nuanced production, the audience is confronted with the disarming anti-hero, Meursault, and challenged to test the boundaries of their own morality - to relate to this stranger, or cast judgment upon him. Its examination of human nature, and the complex dance of truth and lies required to negotiate our existence, pose uncomfortable questions that leave us no shadow in which to hide.
Described as “the master of the solo performance,” Christopher Samuel Carroll has built a reputation as a daring creator of one-man shows. Since moving to Canberra, he has become one of the city’s most prolific and versatile performers, receiving the inaugural Helen Tsongas award for Excellence in Acting in 2019 for roles in Twelfth Night, Icarus, Howie the Rookie, and Metamorphosis. This adaptation of The Stranger will be his sixth solo show: stripped-back, close-up and laid bare, it promises to be a masterclass in the actor’s craft.
The Stranger opens at The Ralph Wilson Theatre, Gorman Arts Centre, on Wednesday 8 December and runs for four performances only, until Saturday 11 December. Bookings essential.
Presented by Bare Witness Theatre Co. and supported by Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres and artsACT. Based
on L’étranger by Albert Camus, © Editions Gallimard.
THE STRANGER by Albert Camus Media Enquiries:
8 - 11 December, 7:30pm Christopher Samuel Carroll
Tickets $30/25 at Humanitix Bare Witness Theatre Co.
The Ralph Wilson Theatre 049 040 6262
Gorman Arts Centre info@barewitnesstheatre.com
