Blindness

“Artistically and technologically pioneering… Stevenson relays the story with her usual impeccable verbal poise” – Daily Telegraph

“Stevenson’s narration is so vivid, and the tech design so atmospheric, that you’d almost swear you could see each scene playing out in front of you.” – Guardian

“An exhilarating testament to the power and necessity of art… a unique and unforgettable achievement” – Metro

“A triumph” – New York Times

As the lights change at a major crossroads in a city in the heart of Europe, a car grinds to a halt. Its driver can drive no more. Suddenly, without warning or cause, he has gone blind. Within hours, it is clear that this is a blindness like no other. This blindness is infectious. Within days, an epidemic of blindness has spread through the city.  The government tries to quarantine the contagion by herding the newly blind people into an empty asylum. But their attempts are futile. The city is in panic. 

Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens has adapted Nobel Prize-winner José Saramago’s dystopian novel Blindness into a sound installation, under the direction of Walter Meierjohann and with the immersive binaural sound design of Ben and Max Ringham. Juliet Stevenson voices the Storyteller/Doctor’s wife in this gripping story of the rise and, ultimately, profoundly hopeful end of an unimaginable global pandemic.

This ticketed installation takes place on the Esplanade Theatre Stage. Patrons will listen on headphones as the narrative unfolds around them. 

Podcast

Created in August 2020 to accompany the staging adaptation of Blindness, this edition of the Donmar Warehouse podcast features writer Simon Stephens as he interviews Production Consultant Professor Hannah Thompson. Together, they unpack the representations of blindness in Blindness—both José Saramago’s dystopian novel and its theatrical adaptation—and take the long view across centuries of literature whilst discussing the exciting possibilities for creatively centring the non-visual in theatre today.