Fireface — Magnus Thorlacius

“It’s like we’re under siege. It’s like there’s a reign of terror within our own four walls.”

Fireface is a raw and disturbing portrait of the claustrophobia of adolescence. We get to know what seems to be a typical nuclear family on the surface, being on the brink of collapse when the struggles beneath the surface are put to the test.

Kurt, the teenage son obsessed with fire, experiments with dangerous substances and becomes increasingly withdrawn and violent. His sister Olga is struggling with her own identity and desires, and finds herself drawn into Kurt’s world of chaos. The parents, overwhelmed and disconnected, fail to comprehend the depths of their children’s discontent. The family dynamics unravel as Kurt’s pyromania escalates, leading to catastrophic consequences.

Originally written in 1997 about a ‘typical’ middle-class family in Germany, it’s now been updated to take place in the age of algorithm driven social media; where society has been pushed to extreme political polarisation and far right ideologies have manifested themselves deeply into the societal discourse, appealing especially to younger generations.

The production is a shortened version of the original play as published by Methuen/ Bloomsbury.