''Touching the Void'' is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

written by David Greig, based on the book of the same name by Joe Simpson. It made its world premiere at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...

in September 2018, before embarking on a short UK and international tour. The play centres on the true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, climb of the 6,344-metre west face of the

Siula Grande Siula Grande is a mountain in the Huayhuash mountain range in the Peruvian Andes. It is high and has a subpeak, Siula Chico, high. __NOTOC__ ''Touching the Void'' ascent In 1985 Siula Grande was climbed by Joe Simpson and Simon Yates. A ...

in the

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest in th ...

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

in 1985.

Production history

''Touching the Void'' has been adapted for the stage by David Greig, based on the 1988 book of the same name by Joe Simpson. The book was previously adapted into a docudrama survival film in 2003. On 8 November 2017, it was announced the play would receive its world premiere the following year and would begin previews at the

on 8 September 2018, with an official opening night on 18 September, booking for a limited period until 6 October. The production marked the reopening of the venue following refurbishment. The play is directed by the Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic Tom Morris, with movement direction by Sasha Milavic Davies, design by Ti Green, lighting design by Chris Davey and composition and sound design by Jon Nicholls. Following its premiere production Touching the Void embarked on a tour to the

Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and

Royal & Derngate Royal & Derngate is a theatre complex in the Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, consisting of the Royal Theatre and Derngate Theatre. The Royal was built by theatre architect Charles J. Phipps and opened in 1884. Ninety-nine years late ...

, Northampton with whom it was a coproduction. Following its opening night in Bristol it was announced the play would also tour to

Hong Kong City Hall Hong Kong City Hall () is a building located at Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong is a " Special Administrative Region" and not a normal Chinese city, there is no mayor or city council; therefore, the ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Perth Theatre Perth Theatre at 185 High Street (no longer its registered address) Perth, Scotland, opened in 1900 and was extended in the 1980s. The building is category B listed by Historic Scotland, and is operated by the charitable organisation Horsecros ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

and

Eden Court Theatre Eden Court Theatre (Scottish Gaelic: Cùirt an Easbaig) is a large theatre, cinema and arts venue situated in Inverness, Scotland close to the banks of the River Ness. The theatre has recently undergone a complete refurbishment and major exten ...

, Inverness. A typical performance runs two hours and forty minutes, including one interval of 30 mins. Following completion of the tour ''Touching the Void'' transferred to the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

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's West End for a limited run, running from 9 November 2019 until 29 February 2020. The script of ''Touching the Void'' was published by Faber and Faber on 6 September 2018. Following the closure of the theatre due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the play will be revived at the

from 26 to 29 May 2021, where performances will be presented live to both a socially distanced audience as well as broadcast online.

Synopsis

The play is set in 1985, on

in the

. It follows Joe Simpson and Simon Yates as they climb the west face of the

, becoming the first climbers to reach the summit using the west face. Descending down the north ridge tragedy struck as Simpson slipped down an ice cliff, breaking his right leg. With Simpson incapacitated Yates lowered Simpson off the North Ridge by tying two 150-foot lengths of rope together to make one rope. With worsening conditions, frost bite and complications with the knots Yates inadvertently lowered Simpson off a cliff and Simpson accidentally dropped one of the cords required to ascend the rope. Simpson could not climb up the rope, Yates could not pull him back up, the cliff was too high for Simpson to be lowered down, and they could not communicate. Yates had to make the hard decision to cut the rope in order to save his own life. Yates cut the rope, plummeting Simpson down the cliff into a deep

crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...

. Exhausted and suffering from

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

, Yates dug himself a

snow cave A snow cave is a shelter constructed from snow by certain animals in the wild, human mountain climbers, winter recreational enthusiasts, and winter survivalists. It has thermal properties similar to an igloo and is particularly effective at pro ...

to wait out the storm. Assuming Simpson was dead Yates carried on descending the mountain by himself. Simpson, however, was still alive. He had survived the 150-foot fall despite his broken leg and had landed on a small ledge inside the crevasse. When Simpson regained consciousness, he discovered that the rope had been cut and realized that Yates would presume that he was dead. He therefore had to save himself. It was impossible for Simpson to climb up to the entrance of the crevasse, therefore his only choice was to lower himself deeper into the crevasse and hope that there was another way out. After lowering himself, Simpson found another small entrance and climbed back onto the

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

via a steep snow slope. In all Simpson spent three days without food and with almost no water, crawling and hopping five miles back to their base camp. Exhausted and almost completely delirious, he reached base camp only a few hours before Yates intended to leave the base camp and return to civilisation.

Principal roles and original cast

References

{{reflist, 2 2018 plays Scottish plays Plays based on novels Plays based on actual events West End plays