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FROM MORNING TO MIDNIGHT

In this new, adventurous adaptation of Georg Kaiser’s classic Expressionist play, we follow the everyman Clerk, played by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, who turns his back on the daily grind to leap instead into a nerve-jangling search for what life has to offer.

Set in the febrile modernity of pre-WWI Germany, the story begins in the hushed lobby of a bank in 1912. Emboldened by a chance brush with a glamorous woman, the normally docile bank clerk steals sixty thousand marks, and runs. That, it turns out, was naive - she doesn’t want him or his money. Which leaves him with the question: how much life can he buy before the authorities catch up with him?

The soundscape immerses listeners in the kaleidoscopic disorientating whirl of the clerk’s frenzied dash through Berlin’s bustling backstreets, luxury hotels and velodromes. With a fortune burning a hole in his pocket, he turns one by one to art, family, social revolution and sensuous excess in search of the thrill he feels life owes him. But, with so much wagered, when things go wrong, they go badly wrong.

His journey is a series of existential epiphanies and farcical misdemeanours, culminating in a Salvation Army Hall where his last hopes for redemption are dashed in a dramatic, money-scattering climax.

‘From Morning to Midnight’ is an intoxicating audio experience that blends thriller, farce and existential drama into a timeless tale of human hope and vulnerability. Driven by an intolerable existential itch, the clerk gives vivid life to our most dangerous dreams.

Kaiser’s play premiered in 1917 after a five-year ban for unspecified reasons, it was, it seems, simply too fearless. Since then, with such luminaries as Brecht and Marlene Dietrich declaring themselves fans of its author, it has become a cornerstone of modern European drama. This radio adaptation captures the essence of Kaiser's work like never before.

Translated, adapted and directed by Simon Scardifield.

An Almost Tangible production for BBC Radio 3

WATCH THE TRAILERS

Cast

The Clerk - Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
Sally Army Girl - Diany Bandza
Woman, Mother, Official 2, Sally Army Officer - Emily Bruni
Rich Client, Official 1, Man 2, Penitent 3 - Alasdair Craig
Customer 1, Waiter, Wife, Official 4, Woman 3, Penitent 2 - Eva Feiler
Manager, Official 3, Man 1, Soldier - James Cooney
Customer 2, Son, Spectator, Waiter, Penitent 1 - Ashley Gillard

CREATIVE TEAM

Director/Translator - Simon Scardifield
Sound Design - Jon Nicholls
Producer - Saskia Black
Executive Producer - Charlotte Melén

Production Copyright 2024, Almost Tangible Ltd.