Death at the dinner party

Is modern life boring you? Have you tried E, P and extreme sports? Looking for the next big thrill?

Do you own the 150cm plasma TV and a wardrobe straight out of Fashion Week? Got the right apartment and the Aston Martin DB9, but still looking for more?

Sarah and Ralf have tried it all, but nothing is working. Life has lost its zing and they are scared neurasthenia is setting in. Now they have decided murder might be the panacea for their boredom.

The young couple are hosts of a dinner party central to the action in Mr Kolpert, the final production of the year at the SiLo. Written by German playwright David Gieselmann, it's a black and bloody comedy that takes a snide swipe at the modern predilection for unrelenting novelty.

Sarah and Ralf (Lauren Jackson and Simon London) invite colleagues Edith and Bastian (Jackie Van Beek and Adam Gardiner) over for dinner. The glittery chit-chat grinds to a halt when Ralf informs the guests there is a dead body in the room. 

"Mr Kolpert is the funniest script I've read for a long time," says Gardiner. "It's a hilarious comedy, from the dark underbelly of theatre. It's unexpected and extreme. There are great lines, with sharp and snappy delivery, and characters who just fly off the handle.

"And yet you have that polite veneer all the way through. That's what is good about comedy, you can break down people's expectations.

"It's very funny, and I hope the audience will be rolling in the aisles, but by the end of the play they will need a stiff drink at the pub."

The actors' preparation for the production sounds more like boot camp for action movies than a play based around a dinner party. The first two weeks of the rehearsal period were dedicated exclusively to fight training.

"Mr Kolpert is total farce, a splatterfest," says Van Beek. "It was great learning wrestling holds, fake punches, all the moves."

"Yeah, Jackie is getting scarily good at it," adds Gardiner glumly.

"This play is dangerous, spontaneous, messy and very funny," says Van Beek.

"Yes, it has violence, nudity, it's visceral and exciting," says Gardiner, perking up.

"It's an uncomfortable sensation as an audience member because you are seeing people physically fight each other and you find yourself rooting for them to put the boot in once more, one more kick, one more punch. But then the fights go on a little too long, a little too much, and it gets uncomfortable."

Written in 2000, seasons of Mr Kolpert have been warmly received around the world, from its native Germany to Britain, America, Europe and Australia. Gardiner and Van Beek are convinced it will be a hit here too.

"It's a play of stark, modern European design and sensibility, yet it has vaudeville, slapstick and farce, that darkness that Kiwis are so familiar with, and quick, pacy US-style dialogue," says Gardiner.

"There are people out there like Sarah and Ralf. They have the right shoes, the right haircuts, they know the right overseas DJs and own the vinyl. It's a totally vacuous existence. We have all seen people like that out there. We recognise them."

Gardiner and Van Beek are revelling in the meatiness of their roles, the brutal humour of the play and the physical challenge of its intense, pitched fights.

There is one thing the actors are nervous about though.

"We've got to eat pizza and tiramisu every night for three weeks."

Performance

* What: Mr Kolpert

* Where and when: SiLo Theatre, tonight to Dec 18