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Synopsis
“A script put together by Franz Kafka, Spike Milligan and Charlie Chaplin at a drunken party to celebrate the twinning of Royston Vasey with the Gorbals. A welcome addition to Celtic Gothic.” — Lloyd Jones Set sometime around now - and yet also any time - this is a beautifully surreal slapstick romantic comedy, wrapped around the forms of the silent film and the Gothic city ghost tour. A cross between Kafka and Mary Poppins - Clara Bow meets Charlie Chaplin by way of Gogol - The Sleepwalkers’ Ball is filmic, funny and lyrical in turns. Always moving, it follows two people - a man and a woman - and their many attempts to hook up together. “Back to the castle we go, for all tours must end at the same point they begin. What’s that sir? Our theme? Why, the indolence of man, sir, lethargy, laziness and sloth.” “Stimulating…wide-ranging... thoroughly readable... superb” — European Journal of American Culture
The Sleepwalkers' Ball is by no means a mere ghost story. Yes, the story of Hans – layabout, daydreamer, freeloader – and his eternal quest for the beloved yet elusive Clara is all dark alleys and tenement stoops, outrageous features and bizarre happenings (we even have our own maniacal tour-guide as we wander along); but it's also a modern rom-com, a satire of the urban grind, and an exquisite study of voice and perspective, all rolled into one. I could see Guillermo del Toro or Terry Gilliam turning their hands to filming it, only with flashes of Allen Ginsberg, Neil Gaiman, and even Monty Python thrown in for good measure.The Sleepwalkers' Ball is a nightwatch like no other, filled with stormy, punchy writing, and featuring some of the best descriptions of weather, old age and drunkenness I've read in a long, long time. It's also a refreshing, intriguing spin on the age-old 'tired soul meets free spirit' formula. Above all, though, it's a rampant celebration of the simultaneity of the mind and the power of dreams, walking the tightrope between fantasy and reality with the greatest of ease.
James Hogg
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