And there was a herd of swine feeding on the mountain; and the devils besought Jesus that he would suffer them to enter into the swine. And he suffered them.
 Then went the devils out of the man and entered into the swine; and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake and were choked.
Demons is an epic multidisciplinary theatre work about terrorism based on Dostoyesky’s novel Demons (aka The Devils and The Possessed). The adaptation is being written and directed by Humphrey Bower in collaboration with an ensemble cast featuring ten of Perth’s leading independent performers and theatremakers.
Demons is about a group of young ‘nihilists’ and their tangled relationships with each other as well as their parents, teachers, mentors, lovers and authorities. Ultimately it shows how individuals, groups, communities and nations become ‘possessed’ by ideas.
The production will be set in 21st century Perth and 19th century Russia simultaneously. The actors will play multiple roles, using cross-gender casting, wigs, masks and puppets. Ultimately the show will be in two parts, performed over two nights twice a week, with a marathon performance of both parts on Saturdays.
The development workshop in November–December in the Performance Space at PICA will focus on the design and staging of the show, which is slated for production in 2016.