Niklas Rådström
When It Comes Down to It
Is there a question that gives rise to all other questions of our lives? What is the meaning of life if death awaits each one of us at its final destination? Is there an answer to this question at all? Or, is the answer to this philosophical and general question simply a mystery?
När det kommer till kritan, 2017
Drama solo project
First Slovenian production
Performance length is 1 hour and 25 minutes and has no pause.
Creators
Translator and avtor uprizoritvene zamisli
Boris Ostan
Dramaturg
Ira Ratej
Directing consultant
Stefan Metz
Sound designer
Darja Hlavka Godina
Language consultant
Martin Vrtačnik
Light designer
Pascal Mérat
Actors
Actor
Boris Ostan
In his play, Niklas Rådström addresses this question with a great deal of poetry and humour, and above all, with a great sense of wonder, speculating where the secret of life lies. These days, people have somehow got rid of constant wondering. As customers, suppliers, and manufacturers of everything we need in our consumer society, we have become masters of desire, demands, and trade. But wondering does requires a different perspective, a different sensibility. In 35 scenes, Niklas Rådström takes us into a world of wonders of conception, birth, growing up, solitude and loneliness, encounters with giant whales, sperm invisible to the eye, everyday chores, startling dreams, and our omnipresent finality.
Niklas Rådström, a recipient of many international awards, is one of Sweden's most eminent living poets. He is also a playwright, screenwriter and novelist. His books have been translated into many languages.
Boris Ostan is a leading man of the Ljubljana City Theatre, a lecturer, and also a director. His productions at the Ljubljana City Theatre include Mobile by Sergi Belbel, Harper Regan by Simon Stephens, and I'm Like You, I Love Apples by Theresia Walser. His first solo project will explore the mystery of life and death. As Ostan puts it, “it is more than forty years ago since I first trod the boards of the Ljubljana City Theatre”, which is why he feels, “it is time to start preparing a reckoning with the mysteries of life on these boards, because the mystery of death is awaiting us, and we will always be unprepared for it”.
What is the meaning of life if death awaits each one of us at its final destination?
''It is time to start preparing a reckoning with the mysteries of life on these boards, because the mystery of death is awaiting us, and we will always be unprepared for it''.