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Touching the Void
In 1928 a journalist asked George Mallory why he wanted to climb Everest. Mallory said, 'Because it's there.'
Joe Simpson's memoir Touching the Void, international bestseller and BAFTA-winning film, charts his struggle for survival on the perilous Siula Grande mountain in the Peruvian Andes aged twenty-five.
Adapted for the stage by David Greig, Joe's story explodes into a bold theatrical fantasia. We discover the counter-cultural world of Alpine climbing and the sensual joy of the mountains; we bear witness to the appalling moment when Joe's climbing partner Simon Yates, battered by freezing winds and tethered to the injured Simpson, makes the critical decision to cut the rope.
Tense, funny and inquisitive, Touching the Void explores the mind's extraordinarily rich reservoirs of strength and imagination when teetering on the edge of death.
David Greig's Touching the Void premiered at Bristol Old Vic, Bristol in September 2018.
- GenresPlays
115 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 27, 2018
38 people want to read
About the author
David Greig
67 books35 followersDavid Greig is a Scottish dramatist. He was born in Edinburgh in 1969 and brought up in Nigeria. He studied drama at Bristol University and is now a well-known writer and director of plays. He has been commissioned by the Royal Court, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company and was Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh from 2015 until 2025, when he left to return to writing.
His first play was produced in Glasgow in 1992 and he has written many plays since, produced worldwide. In 1990 he co-founded Suspect Culture Theatre Group with Graham Eatough in Glasgow.
His translations include Camus' Caligula (2003), Candide 2000, and When the Bulbul Stopped Singing, based on a book by Raja Shehadeh. Danmy 306 + Me (4 ever) (1999) is a play written for children.
David Greig's plays include The American Pilot (2005), about America's involvement in the Middle East and Eastern Europe; Pyrenees (2005) about a man who is found in the foothills of the Pyrenees, having lost his memory; and San Diego (2003), a journey through the American dream. His latest works are Gobbo, a modern- day fairytale; Herges Adverntures of Tintin, an adaptation; Yellow Moon (2006); and Damascus (2007)
His first play was produced in Glasgow in 1992 and he has written many plays since, produced worldwide. In 1990 he co-founded Suspect Culture Theatre Group with Graham Eatough in Glasgow.
His translations include Camus' Caligula (2003), Candide 2000, and When the Bulbul Stopped Singing, based on a book by Raja Shehadeh. Danmy 306 + Me (4 ever) (1999) is a play written for children.
David Greig's plays include The American Pilot (2005), about America's involvement in the Middle East and Eastern Europe; Pyrenees (2005) about a man who is found in the foothills of the Pyrenees, having lost his memory; and San Diego (2003), a journey through the American dream. His latest works are Gobbo, a modern- day fairytale; Herges Adverntures of Tintin, an adaptation; Yellow Moon (2006); and Damascus (2007)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 22, 2024
A WONDERFUL play, available on allarts.org (public television). https://www.allarts.org/programs/all-...
The most remarkable element is the staging/set, which provides mountains and cliffs on which the actors climb and struggle. Pure athleticism on the part of the cast. It is also an interesting exploration of pushing oneself to extremes, and the ethical issues associated with that. There is one problem, I think: the first part of the play seems to take place in a tavern, in which the climbers explain what happened on the mountain. But this tavern scene could not have happened in the play's reality, and thinking of it as a dream sequence simply doesn't work.
The most remarkable element is the staging/set, which provides mountains and cliffs on which the actors climb and struggle. Pure athleticism on the part of the cast. It is also an interesting exploration of pushing oneself to extremes, and the ethical issues associated with that. There is one problem, I think: the first part of the play seems to take place in a tavern, in which the climbers explain what happened on the mountain. But this tavern scene could not have happened in the play's reality, and thinking of it as a dream sequence simply doesn't work.
November 21, 2019
Gripping, enjoyable read.
November 3, 2020
brilliant story, brilliant adaptation & makes me miss the playfulness of bristol old vic shows
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews