Damage Joy

‘Damage Joy’ invites audiences into a dark fantasy / fairy tale world where they will meet 4 characters who like to hurt each other and destroy things for fun. The show was inspired by the German word "shadenfreude," which is used to specifically describe the kind of joy you feel when you see someone slip and fall on a banana peel, or if you saw a bride fall into a pond at her wedding. It's taking pleasure in the misfortune, or sometimes the pain, of others. Slapstick comedy is another example of this. Why is it funny to see someone being hit on the head with a bat?

The performance explores what our tolerance for violence and cruelty is in society. If we're laughing at the damage or cruelty done to other people, that must mean it's acceptable. So the question is, at one point, and under what circumstances, do we stop laughing?