L’ADDITION

Tim Etchells with Bert & Nasi

Produced by Forced Entertainment

Part of the Here & Now showcase

(2023)

Two performers armed with (or trapped in) a single scene – a customer orders a drink from a waiter. And then things go awry.

Played again and again, the events of this stock-situation roll repeatedly with nonstop dialogue or absolute silence and the scene starts spinning out of control. Nightmarish spiral or grotesque farce? Roles and relationships of power flip back and forth, to the point that we no longer know who’s the target and who’s the aggressor, who’s serving and who’s being served.

Directed by Forced Entertainment artistic director Tim Etchells, and created with the brilliant performance duo Bert and Nasi, 'L’Addition' orchestrates a complex hilarious and explosive performance from simple materials. Together, the three of them play with the mechanisms of theatre as much as with power relationships — but in the end, someone has to pay the bill.

This production is an English language version of the original French production by Festival d'Avignon in 2023.

Director Tim Etchells Text Tim Etchells with Bertrand Lesca & Nasi Voutsas Devised and performed by Bertrand Lesca & Nasi Voutsas Lighting Design Alex Fernandes Composer & Sound Design Graeme Miller

©Christophe Raynaud deLage

"avec une saillante économie d'effets, Bert et Nasi sont les dignes héritiers des Monty Python" // "with a striking economy of effect, Bert and Nasi are worthy heirs to Monty Python".

"La partition de Tim Etchells et le duo de performeurs nous enchantent". // "Tim Etchells's score and the duo of performers are enchanting". Telerama

"un théâtre poussé à bout" // "theatre pushed to its limits" ScenesWeb

"captivant" // "captivating" Libération