Dark Noon: the reimagining of American history that provoked acclaim – and walkouts – comes to Australia

‘What makes it fresh, arresting and not a little troubling is who is telling the story’ … the Guardian gave Dark Noon five stars at the Edinburgh International Fringe festival in 2023. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

When Dark Noon opened in the US, there were walk-outs. The show, in which seven South African performers tell the story of America in 105 minutes, has earned rave reviews internationally since its premiere in Denmark in 2019, but for American audiences in South Carolina and New York, it proved divisive.

“Some felt recognised; some felt that the story just ran over them, like a train coming from the past,” says the show’s co-director, Tue Biering.