Experimental Theater Board

"The Waltz Invention" by Vladimir Nabokov is a tragicomedy in three acts. Salvator Waltz, an inventor, declares that he controls a new machine of immense destructive power called Telemort, which he claims will soon make war, military, and politics superfluous. The Minister of War dismisses him as mad, but shortly thereafter, a nearby mountain blows up exactly at the time predicted by Waltz. Waltz’ immense power via Telemort causes the people to both fear and revere him and he is soon put in charge of the ministry. Waltz, however, finds his new job unproductive and tiresome. To spice things up, he threatens to blow everything up, but a strong-willed and seductive reporter now reveals the clincher: there is no Telemort machine. Reality sets in, secrets are revealed, and drastic consequences ensue.