Play tells of climb that changed lives

By wramsey

Sir Edmund Hillary returned from "God's doorstep" – the summit of Everest – a changed man.

Something of his arrogance had been rubbed off by the 1953 expedition, which made headlines around the world.

"It was the magnitude of reaching the summit and realising how small he was," said Mark Smith, the director of a new play about the expedition.

"He stood on top of 'God's doorstep', looked down on the world and realised that he was not the be all and end all. It was an epiphany.

"He could have spent the rest of his life making money on the dinner-party circuit but instead used his name to set up trusts and charities for the sherpas of Nepal. He built schools and hospitals – things he would never have considered had he not managed the feat."

Top Of The World, created by the Liverpool-based Spike Theatre, details the expedition – and the very different way in which Hillary and his sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, were treated after their success.

"Norgay was treated quite badly by the British government," said Mark.

"While Hillary was knighted, Norgay was given the George Medal – the sort of award that would have been given to a police constable for stopping a burglar."

These themes run throughout the play, which was developed after Mark caught a late night TV screening of documentary The Conquest Of Everest.

Having then rattled through biographies about the two men – and interviewed current mountaineers – he became interested in seeing what prompts someone to put their life in danger.

"When they reached the summit – 28,000ft – they would have been at the same height that commercial airplanes fly," said Mark

"And from those I've spoken to about mountaineering, it's about wanting to feel alive.

"They are very goal-driven – they'll even cut all the labels out of all their clothes to save a little bit of weight for the climb – but it's just as much about feeling that they're a little part of the planet."

To reflect the scale of their ambition, the show will include some puppetry to convey the vastness of the mountain they set out to climb.

A screen at the back of the stage will also be used to show photo-montages, including the explorers at the top of the summit.

And in keeping with Spike Theatre's aim to involve audiences in their work, each member of the crowd will be given a piece of climbing equipment – from ropes to ice-picks – to look after during the performance.

"It's to remind people of what a team effort it was," said Mark.

"There were 384 people involved in that expedition – who carried a total of eight tons of equipment up the mountain."

But, Mark hopes, the key message will be an inspirational one.

"It's about getting people to use their imagination," he said.

"If we can trigger the thought of a dream which they had forgotten about, or never followed, they might go out and do it.

"If they leave feeling that, then we will have done our job."

* Top of the World is on Thursday, March 4, 7.30pm, at Pocklington Arts Centre, Market Place, Pocklington.

Tickets: £6-£8.50, call (01759) 301547