Inferno
Written by Dante Aligheri
Edited by Thomas Brown
Synopsis:
An adaptation of the epic poem, The Divine Comedies: Inferno. In this unique adaptation
Dante after losing his love Beatrice, is driven to sorrow, finding himself lost in a forest he is
frightened by several creatures of hell who roam the earth, it is here he meets Virgil who has
agreed with Beatrice, whom has ascended to the ‘elected’ in heaven, to guide Dante through
hell so that his ‘sorrow does not lead him to sin’. In this piece the audience will be led
through one of the most frightened religious concepts, the idea of hell. Each layer bringing
forth new questions about those interred and the price they paid for the ‘sins’ they committed
in life, the piece culminating in a monologue delivered by Satan. It is an adventurous piece,
in which the audience can lose themselves in the wild and wonderful interpretation that
Dante puts forward; meeting several strange and terrifying characters along the way. There is
a stark contrast between the immortal soul, and mortal body in heavy, and the immortal soul
and body in hell forced to experience the pains of life constantly. Although it is a strange
concept it is humanising, both angels and demons are to be nightmarish constructs, with the
once human population of hell being tortured by both.
Administration:
- Both the author and translator have been dead for a very long time. Therefore there are no
rights.
- Week 7 would be ideal, as we need to create hell onstage. However we may compromise.
Cast:
12 – 15: Multiroling will be encouraged. There are several sex-specific parts, examples of
characters are below. However the list is not conclusive, as there are many roles, all actors
will get an opportunity to speak in a scene centred around them, so regardless of the role you
get, you will without a doubt get to fully explore it.
Dante (m): The primary protagonist, it is Dante who is led through hell by Virgil in an effort
to calm his soul. He is kind and compassionate, but naïve and his grief has made him selfcentred. Throughout the play he becomes colder and learns to detach himself from the
punishments of those who reside in hell.
Virgil (f): Virgil is the guide, a poetic entity birthed during an age of great strife. In the
original interpretation Virgil is the roman poet, which is still true, yet as this is a fiction (and
also because togas look terrible) I will be interpreting Virgil as a War-Poet; a female nurse.
All characters are ‘portrayed’ by Dante as fictional versions of themselves and are therefore
open to interpretation i.e. he presents Minos as a ‘giant snake’ but he is not. Therefore I see
no reason why a female Virgil should be a problem.
Beatrice (f): The former lover of Dante, at the beginning of the play she has died. Yet
unknown to Dante (known later) she has been elected to the chorus of heaven, the chemistry
between Dante and Beatrice is rather endearing as she is a force which ensures his safety and
also his learning, helping him to come out of his grief; she does not want her ‘heaven’ to be
made a ‘hell’ and therefore does all she can to ensure Dante in his mourning for her stays on
the path of faith.
King Minos (f/m): The judge of hell, who sits before the entrance of the Second Circle of
Hell. He is ‘snakelike’ and tyrannical. He is judge, jury and executioner in a sense and is
completely remorseless, reflecting his life as a cruel king of Greek mythology.
Pope Boniface VIII (m): A corrupt pope, who rains from 1294 – 1303, he was a direct enemy
of Dante and resides in the Circle of Simony, the eighth circle. He is the epitome of the
corrupt pope (maybe overshadowed by Alexander VI, but he isn’t in Inferno) and yet even in
hell he attempts to justify his corruption.
The Furies (f) : The furies are the Greek spirits of vengeance, they reside outside the City of
Dis and are exceptionally unstable, they are completely insane and dominated by grief and
hatred. They taunt Dante outside the gate and are only quieted when Beatrice sends the angels
to aid Dante. They are frightening due to their stability and their home advantage.
The Angels (m/f): The angels are not the ‘kind’ and ‘lovely’ cherubs that we think of. They
are spirits of pure order, far away from mortality they are sent by Beatrice to taunt the furies
into allowing Dante to pass into the City of Dis. As creatures of pure order I want them to be
eerie, speaking at the same time and every movement done in synch.
Lucifer (m/f) x3 (Dependent on Cast is Virgil is female, the 2 female: 1 male, is Virgil is
male 2 male: 1 female): In the depths of hell sits Lucifer, frozen in place the three heads of
the beast are forced to chew the sinners: Judas, Brutus and Cassius. He addresses Dante
talking about the continuation of pain, believing that Dante is simply sent by God to remind
the denizens of hell of their pain, by breaking it and bringing it forth again and that Beatrice
is a pawn in God’s game. Physically it will look rather incredible, three actors acting as the
three heads and chewing three more ‘sinners’ who will be spat out and crawl back slowly
towards Lucifer so their pain may start again. A solemn scene in which the audience will
question the idea of punishment and may even do the unforgivable and actually empathise
with Satan, before the play comes to a close.
Interpretation:
Technical:
The set will be simple, lighting will be used to illuminate the cloth background at the ‘back’
of the stage. There will be a door as a centrepiece to the production which will represent the
gates of hell and will be used in the final scene in which the devil allows Dante to leave –
however there will be lots of ‘Stage Signifiers’ which are props that are used to tell the
audience they are in a certain place i.e. a platform for Minos to stand on will signify the gate
to the second circle. There will be a huge reliance on the actors creating the set through
signifiers and physical theatre, as well as the narrative Virgil puts forwards explaining to the
audience where in hell they are.
Lighting will be complex, quick changes will be necessary in order to make a ‘realistic’
change from one circle of hell to another. Sound will also be complex, but a lot of fun, we’ll
need plenty of rather frightening sound effects as well as the original score which will be
created by the Composer and seen and edited by the Sound Designer (see ‘Meet the Team’
below).
Costume and Actors
Costume will be simple, there will be a neutral costume for all of the cast, which will be
relatively simple, with costume signifiers in order to highlight which role they are playing
currently, as well as change in physicality. These costume signifiers will include; masks,
robes and headdresses. The only three people who will have set costume are Dante, Virgil
and Beatrice. Cloth will feature heavily, being used in the physical theatre to create
environments such as the River Styx and even contribute towards the creation of Satan.
Meet the Team:
Director – Thomas Brown
About Me:
From the moment I first read the epic poem, Inferno I imagined what it would be like to see it onstage.
Then after adapting ‘Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ for Platform 2012 into a performance I thought
‘why not’ and began preparing Dante’s Inferno for stage. I have always loved theatre and found that it
can be used as an escape both for the actors, audience and all of those involved. It can be used to
exercise our innermost creativity when we would not be able to elsewhere. Therefore I believe that the
creation of hell is an act of creativity unparalleled onstage and should this play be accepted I am more
than prepared to do all I can to ensure its success.
Experience:
- SuTCo - Radio Plays – Writer, Director, Various Voices
- SuTCo - King Lear – King of France
- SUPAS - Shakespeare Musicals – Hortensio
- Platform – Prufrock – Editor and Director: This involved the adaptation of a poem into a play.
- SSF - The Tempest - Assistant Director – Liverpool Urban Arts Centre
- Appleton Thorn School of Dance – Various Roles (Actor, Dancer, Singer) – Various Productions –
Brindley Theatre and Warrington Pyramid
- Lymm High School, Priestley College - Various Roles – Various Productions – Lymm High School,
Priestley College.
- My A-Level experience with Theatre Studies and Performance Studies gives me the necessary
experience to communicate with a choreographer and clearly get my vision across.
Producer – Alex Monks:
About me:
Hi! I’m Alex and I’ll be working as producer on ‘Dante’s Inferno’. I’m 19
years old and I am a first-year Philosophy and Theology student with a keen
interest in drama and a keener interest in good drama. When I’m not working
hard on my degree, (so, most the time) I’m either writing, playing/watching
sports (more recently and less healthily, watching) or trying to get involved in
theatre where I can. This would be my first stint as a producer and given how
amazing this project sounds I can’t wait. I just hope you and everyone who
will potentially be involved in it can get as excited as I am! It’ll be a hell of a
show…
Experiences:
- Volunteer work and community projects; On these projects I have had time working with a variety
of people in an array of capacities- from teaching in schools to communicating and co-ordinating with
small businesses. These people skills and organisational skills I feel are vital for any producer.
- Worked as a charity fundraiser part-time for 2 years; Having worked with people supporting a range
of different charities, I have subsequently worked with a number of different, often difficult,
personalities and achieved good results. In simple terms, the job is a case of succinctly portraying
information about a cause and asking for support- exactly what I’d be doing in gaining sponsorship as
a producer.
- Performed in SutCo’s Frankenstein; This gives me a good insight in how SutCo productions
function and helps me understand what I’ll be working with.
- Flyering and self-promotion at Edinburgh Fringe 2011; Spent a week publicising a show performing
at the Fringe Festival (one of the most competitive environments around) and helped the team achieve
an average audience of 30 people over 6 nights.
- Performed and self-publicised/ promoted ‘Bang! You’re Dead’ which, as a result, was a 2012 sellout show (Bedfringe Festival)
Stage Manager – Jono Wells
About me:
Hi, my name’s Jono. I’ve been in SuTCo since I started uni 4 years ago and
I’ve managed to do a fair amount in that time but having not done tech with
SuTCo before I’m very much looking forward to this opportunity. I’ve had the
experience of being producer for Closer and directed/production managed “An
Act of Desperation” in Platform last year and “Shrewsical” which was part of
SUPAS’ Shakespeare Musicals and from these and some of my other
experience I’ve developed a good idea of what the role involves. I’m
particularly excited to do this adaptation of Dante’s inferno because of the
overall aesthetic of the piece and the text which links into Greek and Roman
literature, which I studied at school. Also it’s likely to be DANTERIFFIC!
Experiences:

4 years of SuTCo in general with 2 years on committee as archivist and external
publicist

Experience doing lighting op for South Pacific and sound op for The Wiz with
amateur groups back home

Directed “An Act of Desperation” and “Shrewsical” as part of the Shakespeare
Musicals

On the production team for Closer (2011)

Went to Edinburgh Fringe with SuTCo for “Cracks” (2010) and HeadLock Theatre
for “The Tragedy of Titus” (2011)

Acted in Still Waiting, Gasping, The Trial, Transition and A Dream Play with SuTCo.
To Join afterwards:
- Choreographer: To work on the physical theatre of the piece allowing the actors to focus on
the transformation into both ‘hell’ and the characters within it.
- Composer: To work closely with the sound designer to create an original score which can be
recorded or performed live, depending on which is easier.
- The usual: DSM, Lighting Designer, Sound Designer, Set Designer, Tech Officer, Costume
(and Make-Up) Designer etc.
Why should SuTCo do this play?
- It is a physical piece, SuTCo should be doing more experimental things, things which are
interesting and visually dynamic. Giving actors a chance to work on their physicality, as
opposed to simply voice of gesture.
- It will be collaborative; we will have to create hell. Imagine how much fun a designer could
have!
-In my effort to find an onstage interpretation I haven’t yet found one. So you’ll be part of
something truly unique.
- It is a big name, imagine what can be done to publicise the piece, the city rally will be
incredible!
- It is a profound piece; it will force the audience to question the idea of heaven and hell.
- It will be so much fun!