WAR WITH THE NEWTS

A man falls under the spell of a dystopian tale: a fossil discovered by Johann Jakob Scheuchzer in 1720 seems to have survived in the South Seas. The giant newt Andrias Scheuchzeri spreads across the globe. It learns to speak, becomes increasingly intelligent and eventually completely supplants mankind.



The electrified man sits at his computer and does research. More and more, his perception shifts. He builds himself a studio and starts to produce the evidence for his own theory. He becomes more and more isolated and eventually disappears completely. Only his dilapidated flat remains. Fragments of sound and film haunt the living room. The telephone rings. The neighbours argue. An animal screams. Has humanity died out? Then the surveillance camera turns on – someone comes home.



WAR WITH THE NEWTS is a play without live actors, based on the 1936 novel by Karel Capek. A speculation on the end of humanity. A burlesque journey to the limits of human reason.