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Touching the Void

Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh

What happens when you look death squarely in the face, and how do you find the strength to crawl back towards life? Read more …

Joe Simpson's memoir Touching the Void, an international bestseller and BAFTA-winning film sensation, charts his struggle for survival on the perilous Siula Grande mountain in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

The heart of the story is Joe Simpson's mental battle as he teeters on the very brink of death and despair in a crevasse from which he can't possibly climb to safety. Also unforgettable is the appalling dilemma of Simon Yates, perched on an unstable snow-cliff, battered by freezing winds and desperate to rescue the injured Simpson, who hangs from a rope below him. Knowing that they will both ultimately fall into the void, he makes the critical decision to cut the rope, changing both of their lives forever.

The Lyceum’s Artistic Director David Greig brings his award-winning writing skills to the first stage adaptation of this nail-biting adventure, rich in psychodrama and suspense. Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic, Tom Morris (The Grinning Man, War HorseSwallows & Amazons), lends his visionary directing style to the show.


The critical consensus

David Greig finds humour amid the horror in this triumphant stage adaptation of the mountaineering memoir.

*****Mark Lawson, The Guardian, 19/09/2018

While there are certainly flaws to Touching the Void they don’t deduct the essential power of this incredible story.

Lilith Wozniak, Exeunt, 23/09/2018

It feels as if this production could have been much more than it was, and didn’t trust the talent it had and the story it adapted.

**(*)(*)(*)Jacob Close, Edinburgh 49, 30/01/2019

This theatrical adaptation of Joe Simpson's infamous memoir is an unforgettable celebration of the unbroken human spirit.

****(*)Amy Taylor, The Skinny, 29/01/2019

Ultimately, however, the sheer visceral impact is always going to win through, and any glitches in the storytelling are hard to notice in a production of considerable emotional power.

****(*)Thom Dibdin, All Edinburgh Theatre, 26/01/2109

The show emerges as a tense and thrilling theatrical experience, that captures both the absolute terror of Simpson’s brush with death, and the very human absurdity of the hallucinations that accompanied it.

****(*)Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman, 28/01/2019

The result is an inspirational quest that exposes the value of life itself.

*****Neil Cooper, Coffee-Table Notes, 28/01/2019

Perhaps it is then appropriate that, in this tale of human ambition, frailty and fortitude, that the true stars are the implacable mountain and the endless void itself.

***(*)(*)Deborah Chu, The List, 28/01/2019

Touching the Void seeks to separate itself from its origins somewhat, and in doing so has forgotten the key aspects of what makes Joe Simpson’s experience engaging.

***(*)(*)Dominic Corr, The Reviews Hub, 28/01/2019

Josh Williams is utterly compelling as the stranded Joe, as, with barely believable resilience, he descends the mountain and the play reaches a dramatic peak.

Mark Brown, Scottish Stage, 09/02/2019


Features about Touching the Void

'We need to hear bone splintering!'--Touching the Void crashes on to the stage.

Peter Ross, The Guardian, 05/09/2018

Tom Morris--Touching the Void

Neil Cooper, Coffee-Table Notes, 08/01/2019

Touching the Void thrillingly realised on stage

Philip Wilson, The List, 17/01/2019

Touching the Void: bringing the mountains into the theatre

Susan Mansfield, The Scotsman, 21/01/2019

Where and when?

Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh from Thursday January 24, 2019, until Saturday February 16, 2019. More info: www.lyceum.org.uk

Perth Theatre, Perth from Thursday March 7, 2019, until Sunday March 10, 2019. More info: www.horsecross.co.uk

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