Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is a radical adaptation of Conrad’s novella that toured nationally and internationally from 2018 to 2020. Co-written and co-directed with Pete Brooks (University of the Arts, London (50%)), this intermedial performance work reversed the original narrative and placed a Congolese woman (a private detective called Marlow) as the main protagonist who is sent by her government to locate a man called Kurtz in a war-torn and perpetually ravaged Europe. Using green technologies with live cameras and projection mapping, the performance is structured around the creation of a film/graphic novel as part of the stage action. Interspersed with this unfolding narrative were scenes that discussed the politics and challenges of adaptation which made use of documentary and other versions of the novella. Primary research questions focussed on the following: How can intermedial performance engage with current debates around adaptation, race and gender? What new practices does it offer to theatre makers in exploring these themes? How do the intertextual possibilities created by intermedial theatre affect the creative strategies of adaptation. In what ways do digital technologies offer new strategies for exploring the process of ‘reading’ and deconstructing modernist texts? Can intermedial performance contribute to a new understanding of politics in theatre