Distant Mirror

'Tell me if you can why a grown man in his mid-thirties, namely me, should have to live with an instrument that's a constant handicap to him?! Humanly, socially, sexually, musically, in traffic – nothing but a handicap!'

Set in Germany in the early 1980s, Patrick Süskind's wry dramatic monologue explores the frustrations, regrets, hopes and desires of a state-employed orchestral double bassist as he sits in his sound-proofed apartment drinking beer, musing on his station in life and lusting after a young colleague - who is quite possibly unaware that he even exists.

First performed in 1981, The Double Bass went on to garner huge success in Süskind's native Germany and has since been translated into 28 languages.

Having played The Double Bassist to great acclaim some years ago, Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory regular Paul Currier returns to the role in this amusing and astute exploration of professional, personal and romantic frustration.