The Eradication of Schizophrenia in Western Lapland @ Summerhall

Confusing, mind-boggling, yet amazingly simple in its construction, The Eradication of Schizophrenia in Western Lapland is one of Ridiculusmus’s Fringe ventures. The audience is split in two, each half on either side of the set, divided in two by a wall. Creating the illusion of visual and auditory hallucinations, the set design allows the performers to focus on the script, without there being too much going on visually. While this means the question ‘what on earth is going on?' repeats itself throughout, it also means the audience can focus on the plot unravelling on the side they are sitting on, even if shouts and interruptions come from the other side.

The audience is then asked to change side, to view a different narrative altogether, with similar effects. The result is this bizarrely fragmented and incoherent story. Of course, as the switch happens halfway through and depending on which side you happen to be sitting on, events happen in a different order. Nonetheless, the switch also seems to operate like a reset button, starting the story from the beginning. The bizarre nature of this performance leaves a great deal open to interpretation and seems to mix them up in a nonsensical fashion. Though the sounds from the other side of the wall can be interpreted as a separate tale or as a hallucination, the performance could be said to be quite realistic as it doesn't create one-dimensional characters, but toys with them and the audience, without it being particularly clear whether the narrative happens in the past or the present.

While Ridiculusmus achieve disorientation through cramming an innumerable quantity of stimuli into one performance, it's not difficult to unpick the genius and ambition of this setup, since it seems to recreate the effects of the condition it is about.